The Hero of Thieves
by Odieaida
Summary: Hyrule is still recovering from the tyrannical reign of the late-king Ganondorf. The Gerudo along with the rest of his followers have been exiled to the desert by the New King. Bitterly they plot their revenge, shouldering all of their hopes on a young man who has the same triforce mark as Ganondorf. But what happens when they involve Hyrules Princess in their scheme? Slight AU OoT
1. Prologue

**A/N Hey all! Welcome to my first ever Legend of Zelda fan-fiction! Please feel free to tell me your thoughts on the prologue, and don't worry, ten years will have passed in the next chapter so everybody will be older. I'm sort of taking a different direction in this fiction, so it's slightly AU to Ocarina of Time I suppose. This chapter is mostly just back story, and for that I apologize, but it will be necessary fro plot development later on I swear. I might make a few of you mad with the 'sides' and beliefs of some of the characters, but I'm going to be including as many in-game characters as possible one way or another. I don't like making OC's very much, but with an entire clan of Gerudo and Sheikah I assume I'm going to have to sooner or later. ANYWAYS, I don't own Legend of Zelda, that belongs to Nintendo, and please enjoy the prologue to The Hero of Thieves!**

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The triforce is, in its most simplistic definition, the essence of the goddesses. It is the only thing that can bring a mere mortal the grand sensation of divinity. Its strength and wisdom is unsurpassed, and with its three parts combined, it is more powerful than even the goddesses themselves.

However, the triforce is not always in its all-powerful state of combination. The magical properties it holds are so ingenious, that it has the ability to separate itself if someone with an unbalanced heart tries to take it for their own. Whatever part of the force that the heart is most centered toward, will remain with that person, while the other two will attach themselves to more deserving hosts.

Still, the triforce does not like to be separated for long. While it does what is necessary to protect itself, the triforce will bound the three force holders together by a thread of fate, so that it may have the ability to be whole once more. So due to the triforces overwhelming attraction to itself, when the triforce is divided, the remaining two forces do not take long to reemerge.

There are a few ways to remove the triforce piece from it's owner. One is natural. Simply if the owner of the piece's heart no longer represents it, the force leaves and finds a more suitable host. The other is forceful. In order to obtain a triforce piece from someone who still suits it, one must kill the host and the piece will be transferred to the one who did the killing. There are of course other ancient texts that talk about less gruesome ways to extract pieces, though none of them have been put into practice.

After the goddesses created the triforce and the mortal land, the humans were left in charge of guarding it. This task of course proved too much, as many people with ill intentions constantly tried to steal the triforces immense power. Then one day, as suddenly as it was made, the triforce simply vanished from the mortal world.

Due to its long period of absence, through the years this 'ultimate power' began to be referred to as mythos in the land of Hyrule. The divine force was thought of as nothing more than a simple children's story, a trivial way to inspire curiosity about the world and the goddesses, but was dismissed as nothing more.

That was, until the day someone finally grabbed hold of the legend.

Ganondorf, the born ruler of a large band of thieves from the desert called the Gerudo, proved the myth a reality when he broke into the triforce's container, and tried to take it for himself. However, due to his unbalanced intentions, only one of the triforce pieces actually remained with the King of Thieves. This piece was power, as it was the most prevalent feature in his darkened heart. The other two pieces, all but vanished once again.

Ganondorf took over Hyrule with little resistance. The king had been murdered by his hand, and the Prince of Hyrule disappeared just as suddenly as the remaining triforce pieces had. The Gerudo moved out of the desert and into the divided uproar that was Hyrule. The Sheikah, a race sworn to protect the royal family, were targeted and assassinated in massive numbers by both the Gerudo, and Ganondorf's other followers. Those who refused to pledge allegiance to him were penalized, and those who did were rewarded with land seized by those killed under the tyranny, money if they agreed to work for the Gerudo king, and power given to those who publicly preached and upheld his policies.

His reign lasted for five long, difficult years.

Yet one day, the prodigal prince returned to claim his rightful place on the throne of Hyrule. He along with a large band of Sheikah took down the Dark Ruler, with the Prince, Daphnes Nohansen, striking the final blow and ending Ganondorfs life.

His welcome was met with both eager acceptance, and violent rejection.

Not all of the Gerudo had necessarily followed the King of Thieves after they had seen what horrors he could easily unleash, though King Daphnes felt he had no choice but to banish the entirety of them back to the desert. It was the only way to both establish authority, and peace of mind in his kingdom. In addition to this, he also held trials for those who had publicly shown Ganondorf support. The King made many exemptions, as long as they promised to pledge their allegiance back to him and his throne. But if they refused, they were sent into exile with the rest of the Gerudo.

King Daphnes was widely referred to as 'The Hero of Time' by his subjects. In the age old legend, it was foretold that a man with a piece of the triforce would vanquish the evil that threatened Hyrule, with a strike from a legendary blade. While no blade of significance was used, he appeared to fit the description. The fact that he had a piece of the triforce did not hurt his following either.

For two years the holder of the third triforce piece remained a mystery. For two years the people had waited for someone who could complete the legend. For two years, the people had waited for their true Hero of Time.

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"Bring more hot water over here!" A frantic attendant shouted, scrambling around the tired, bloody body which was struggling to continue the ever hardening task of breathing.

"Get more towels!" Another attendant shouted.

"Her pulse is weakening," the doctor stated with a dry undertone. He long given up hope on the patient, though her maids refused to face the reality. Instead, they ran around the castle's birthing room in an orderly chaos, doing everything they possibly could to prolong the inevitable.

"There's so much blood…"

The young woman standing idly toward the back of the room couldn't take the sight any longer. At this point in her nineteen years, she had thought she was immune to emotions. She had seen decapitation, mutilation, and people she knew burned alive with her very own eyes, yet nothing could quite compare to the sight of her beloved queen's life force drain from her sickly, beautiful body. The others had tried to warn her not to go in, to not bother with trying to pay her final respects. Sheikah share a strange bond to members of the royal family. Watching this scene, it was almost as if a part of her was being physically ripped away.

Paling, the young Sheikah placed her hand over her mouth, as if to keep herself from screaming, hurling, sobbing or all of the above as she forced her eyes to close in an attempt to dismiss the sight.

Yet the fast paced steps of the maids pattering on the floor, the broken voices, pained wheezing sounds, and loud cries coming from all around her made it impossible to ignore.

"Impa!" The Sheikh's eyes snapped open at the sound of her name. An older woman who had been acting as a midwife in the birthing process was glaring at the young Sheikhian with no remorse. "If you can't make yourself useful, take the girl and get out of here! I can't take those screams anymore."

It was true, she had been given several orders in the panic and was unable to complete any of them that required movement. However, this woman was essentially giving Impa a dismissal that she wasn't about to pass up.

Summoning all of her strength, Impa turned to the makeshift cradle that housed a screaming newborn wrapped in a mesh of plush pink blankets. She stiffened her resolve as she swiftly approached the neglected child. In all this chaos over the Queen, the poor thing had been essentially cast aside. She pulled the baby into her strong arms, the excessive blankets trailing down to her hips as well as enveloping the young child.

Without really taking a look at the thing, she half-jogged out of the premises, firmly shutting the door behind her as she dwelled on the fact that she would likely regret her cowardice in the face of death for years to come. This still did not stop her as she walked down a few long, lavish hallways to the vacant nursery where the baby and mother were supposed to be transported together.

With a sigh, the Sheikhian girl realized she would need to remain with the baby in the eerie room until the uproar had died down. Unlike the frightened maids, Impa couldn't very well leave a newborn unattended.

The woman sat down on one of the cushioned seats, resting the whining lump on her lap as she supported it's head with a large hand. Carefully, she maneuvered the blankets from around the baby in order to get a better look.

Its cries hard started to quiet at the comfort of human contact, the child's small body was still pink and its eyes seemed to hold curiosity at having just been opened. Impa also noticed that the child was a she, and had been briefly washed by one of the attendants before complications with the queen became too serious. Its cries became completely silent when its eyes rested on Impas face, and the baby regressed to making the occasional humming sound.

She did not know if the bold blue of the little girl's eyes would remain that way in the future, or if it was just because she was a baby, but either way the color was beautiful. The baby's skin was eerily soft, as if the smallest amount of pressure would damage it. A very small, thin, amount of lightly shaded hair had already grown on the babies head, and her finger and toenails had also already grown inside the womb. Impa did not know how long she held the baby in an embrace as they simply stared at once another, neither of them showing any emotion for a long time.

Eventually, the baby girl shook her arm out, as if testing what she could do with the limb. Impa's already softened eyes began to show a deeper emotion as her stoic face quirked the beginning of a smile. She held one finger out to the child as it batted its arms, eventually trying to touch the filangie above it. While the baby tried its best to touch the finger, Impas adoring eyes and bewitched expression switched to a mix of shock and horror as she noticed what was engraved on the back of the baby's hand.

Permanently etched in the skin of the little girl were three triangles, connected to one another in what formed a larger triangle. This mark was all a light brown, save for the fact that the triangle farthest to the left, almost seemed to be glowing.

Impa gasped, being careful not to stand up too quickly, and also not to drop the baby, the Sheikhian raced out of the nursery. She needed to find the little girls father immediately. She needed to find the King!

As Impa glanced down at the delicate bundle in her arms while brisk walking throughout the castle, she had a feeling that she would be spending an awful lot of time with the tiny creature.

* * *

"And you're _sure_ that this baby has the mark?"

A tall, slender woman dressed in all white garb addressed a group of three other girls wearing red, green and purple. All of their uniforms fit comfortably, they wore thin clothed, baggy pants in their respective colors, along with cropped shirts that only covered what was necessary of their upper halves, sleeves loosely falling on their shoulders and leaving no restrictions on their lithe bodies. All of their skins had a deep bronze due to the constant sunlight and natural pigmentation, including their stomachs, which were proudly revealed by the daring outfits, and were flat and quite muscular. Their entire bodies in fact, where toned and fit at a battle-hardened level. Twin scimitars rested on the hips of each of the women, held by golden-brown belted sheaths.

"Positive. Do you wish to see for yourself?" The woman in red spoke. She was the only one of the females who had a translucent scarf tied around her mouth, notting together under her ponytail. These kinds of scarves were practical, as they kept sand from blowing into ones face, and also did not add any extra heat or weight.

"The mother is willing to bring it to me already?" The woman in white inquired with a quirk of her brow. Placing a calloused hand on her hip she added, "we can give her time with the thing alone for a while. It's no rush."

"That's not necessary, Nabooru," this time the woman in green spoke, "unfortunately, the mother died during childbirth, and since we don't have the best supplies here, we couldn't do anything to help her," the woman couldn't even try to keep the bitterness out of her tone as she spoke.

Nabooru sighed as she began to rise from her seat at their humble conference area. She shook her head regretfully, her long red hair which was pulled back into a tight ponytail at the top her her head swayed slightly as her head bobbed, "Couldn't be helped I suppose. Was this woman Gerudo also?"

"No," this time the Gerudo in purple spoke up, "she was Hylian. It was the poor soul who came here alone and pregnant a few months back, remember?"

"Who could forget?" The green Gerudo piped up again, "especially her stories. Remember the one about her spineless husband that relinquished all of their loyalty and swore allegiance to that worm they call a king?"

"Men are weak," the Gerudo in red agreed, resting her head in her hand while she propped her elbow on the sand-stone table in front of them.

"Ah, are we forgetting the gender of our little protege?" The Gerudo in purple cut in, holding her finger up as she proved her point.

"It's a boy?" Nabooru asked, growing a little tired of conversation as she became anxious to meet the little Hylian. They rarely had baby boys in Gerudo fortress.

The three other women nodded.

"Same as Ganondorf!"

Nabooru wasn't paying attention to which one of her sisters had said that, but she played with the thought a little. "If you girls wouldn't mind..?" She left the question open ended, eying them with mild eagerness. The three nodded excitedly, and all of them ran out of the room to complete a task that really would have only taken one of them. Nabooru realized they must have been just as curious about the baby boy as she was.

She fiddled with her solid golden bracelets as she waited. Despite the lack of money that the fortress had, everyone had a few selfishly shiny trinkets they kept to themselves. She was a thief after all, and everyone saved a few nice things for themselves every once in a while.

She had just recently reached a higher ranking in the fortress actually, high enough of a ranking for other Gerudo to ask her opinion on the new mysterious boy. She was merely seventeen, which for Gerudo women, is plenty old enough to be treated with respect. Still, she wasn't quite used to it. All Nabooru had to do to earn her position in the council was defeat a senior fighter, which wasn't too much of a task for her, she was one of the best fighters the Gerudo had, and that was certainly saying something about her.

Immediately upon the birth of the baby with the strange marking, the fortress had been in a buzz of excitement. Any birth is usually a happy time in the fortress, as not too much good happens around there, so they'll take what they can get. With the recent edition of Hylians who can stand the heat, which of course includes the occasional man, that just meant more babies for the fortress. Not that they needed more mouths to feed.

The Gerudo didn't care much for status. They had a king, and that was it. Though since they didn't have _him_ anymore, their leadership was a much more democratic affair. They did have a slight hierarchy however. a Third, a Second, and a First. The third were the majority of the Gerudo, who didn't want to bother with any position of authority. They were soldiers and hunters and rule followers, they were also what every Gerudo that comes of age begins as. Then, they had the Second, which was what Nabooru was. It consisted of the council, and required less grunt work and more decision making. All they wore to show this status was a single silver choker necklace. Nabooru felt this position suited her more, but still wanted to move up to the infamous First.

Now First consisted of the most elite fighters in the Gerudo. Their word was the most respected, and therefore the most carefully considered, but the only say. They were also the more leader-prone women. They would lead hunts and raids, also oversee activities or travels that required them, and there would always be at least one First with the King at all times. However, there was no king, so the First didn't need to worry about that. All they wore that set them apart, was a golden necklace, almost identical to the silver one of the Second, save for the color.

Since Gerudo kings are only born once every hundred years, they have a Leader in times of his absence. She usually makes the final calls, but again, since she is not King her word is not law. Though she commands the most respect, she is still their equal. To set her apart from the rest, she wears a gold band around her midriff, and no necklace.

It didn't take long for the three Gerudo woman to return with a only slightly clothed baby held securely in their arms. It was a rare sight to see Gerudo fawn over anything, even young children, but babies seemed to have that effect on everyone. The Gerudo were no exception.

The Gerudo in red who had been carrying the child, held it out for Nabooru to examine. The young Second furrowed her brow at the bundle which wined slightly, though did not screech like many other newborns she had seen, and for that she was grateful. She ran her hand over the pale skin on it's forehead. They would have to toughen the little thing up, and it would take a lot of work. Men, of course, are the more frail of the species. His eyes were almost glowing blue, a shade which Gerudo were not entirely used to. His hair was also fairly light, and would probably only lighten in the constant sun that the desert offered. She grinned at the baby as a rather large spit bubble began to be blown out of his mouth.

"Well isn't this perfect," she purred, rubbing her thumb over the young child's rosy cheek.

"Yes," the purple Second agreed. Smiling with just as much vigor she added, "we needed a King, and though he isn't Gerudo, who better to secede Ganondorf than a triforce holder?"

"No," Nabooru shook her head at the girl, as if dismissing the idea. This made the three women look at her curiously.

"No?" The Green echoed curiously, "why do you say that? Yeah he's not our race, but that just makes it easier for him to take a Queen, right?" She pressed. Nabooru obviously wouldn't be the last figure in deciding whether or not he would grow up to become their king, but that didn't mean the rest of the Gerudo didn't want her support.

"It would, but the mere title of 'Gerudo King' doesn't quite fit this baby, wouldn't you agree?" Nabooru asked her sisters around her. The purple seemed confused, while the green and red smiled back at her with perked interests. They knew where she was going with this as she continued, "he is bound for bigger and better things. King, yes, but not _just_ of the Gerudo."

"Just like Ganondorf!" The Gerudo in purple perked up, excited to have finally grasped the concept.

Nabooru tried to hide her distaste at the thought, but sighed and agreed anyways. "Yes," she supposed, "just like Ganondorf."

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**A/N lemme know what you thought of it in a Review, and I hope to see you next chapter!**


	2. Chapter 1

**A/N Hello all and welcome to the first official chapter of The Hero of Thieves! **

**So just a few updates before you read, it's been ten years since the prologue, and 12 years since Ganondorf died. Also, there will be another large time skip later on in the story, but not for a few chapters.**

**Feel free to tell me your thoughts in a review!**

**I don't own The Legend of Zelda**

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"But _Impa_," A little girl with bright blonde hair pouted, trying to put up as much resistance as possible while she was being dragged by the hand, "I don't wanna spend the day with Mr. Jeremy! He always wears those creepy masks and pretends to do scary voices…" the little girl shivered, her deep, dark blue eyes widening as she remembered wailing when 'Ms. Great Fairy' tried to sing her a lullaby.

The woman doing the leading sighed, but refused to look back at the young girls face. If that kid wanted something, she would usually just have to look sad to get it, the damn girl was so cute. "He means well," Impa defended, "he just doesn't know how to deal with children over the age of two," she clarified as they neared the gate to Death Mountain where Zelda's day sitter was waiting on duty.

"Why can't I just stay with you?" Zelda tried, knowing she was fighting a losing battle.

"I told you. _You_ might be here on vacation, but I'm here on business," Impa finally stopped pulling the little girl and turned around to face her at eye level, squatting to do so. She gave a slight smile to the adorable pouting girl, Zelda really was trying hard not to go. Lucky, Impa had years of training to perfect the art of putting her foot down.

"I know," Zelda said in a quiet voice, tugging on the shoulder of Impa's strange Sheikhian garb and swaying slightly. Zelda wasn't used to seeing her so decorated, when she was in the castle she usually just wore casual tight-suits with one or two Sheikah emblems, and a little bit of armor over that. Now however, since Impa was about to go to a council meeting with the rest of the higher-ranking Sheikah, she was wearing a ceremonial cape and a lavish jumpsuit decorated in silver Sheikhian eyes and markings. Her face paint was also more elaborate than usual, with blues and greys in addition to her regular white. Zelda starred in the eyes of her nursemaid with her wide, dark blue gaze, and jutted her lower lip out for extra effect.

"Nice try," Impa commented, raising an eyebrow as she removed Zelda's hand from her cape and held it in front of her. Zelda resisted the urge to stomp her foot and whine as a last resort. Instead she sighed, giving up the cute act and now looked very annoyed as she refused to meet the authoritative gaze before her. "I have to go to council with the rest of the Sheikah, but I'll be back by sunset, and Jeremy will have dropped you off at my house before that."

"Fine," Zelda puffed, kicking the ground a little with her feet.

"Don't give him a hard time either," Impa prompted, though Zelda continued to just glance around the town.

"Kay," She murmured.

"Zelda I mean it," At Impas tone, the little girl finally lulled her head over to look the adult in the eyes. "Just be good and lay low. No one is going to recognise you here, but its always good to be safe, right?"

"Right," Zelda sighed, still looking a little mad. Impa grinned and shook her head, pulling the little girl into a not-very

-well-reciprocated hug.

"I'm getting premature grey hairs because of you," Impa said as she separated their embrace. That made Zelda smile a small

reluctant smile.

"I think your hair looks good. It's more shinny that way," she mentioned.

"Yeah, yeah."

"Hey there Princess!" A new voice piped up from a little further ahead of the pair. Zelda groaned and Impa gave a slightly concerned smile.

"Jeremy," Impa greeted, standing up straight from her position and slightly towering over the Death Mountain guard. "Thank you for looking out for Zelda for me, you can drop her off at my house around seven. There's food for you there too, as thanks," Impa nodded to the man who seemed ignorantly excited to spend time with Hyrule's Princess.

"Thanks Ms. Impa! I'll have the princess home on time, no problem!" Zelda simple crossed her arms, but gave him a tight-lipped smile anyways. At least she didn't completely forget her manners.

"Thank you again Jeremy, but remember, she's just 'Zelda' here, not 'Princess'," Impa began, "this is supposed to be a break for her, so just keep her title on the down low alright?"

"Sure thing," The young guard saluted and put his hand on Zelda's shoulder in a friendly gesture, making her roll her eyes, though he didn't notice, "We'll have tons of fun, right Prin- ah, Kiddo?"

"Right," Zelda stated with no emotion.

Impa glared at the young girl until she noticed, then gave a frightfully fake smile as she began to walk away, waving pleasantly. Zelda shivered.

"Have fun you two!" Impa called when she turned around, fast walking away to her destination. The Sheikah meeting place was unknown to non-Sheikah, though it was generally understood it was near Kakariko. Still, that didn't mean Impa wasn't risking being late.

As soon as her nursemaid no longer became visible, blending in with the bustle of other people beginning their morning in the populated town, Jeremy turned to shoot a grin at the Princess. She pathetically attempted to return it.

"So what should we do first… Zelda?" Jeremy asked, needing to think about what to call the Princess before he addressed her. He was getting out of boring guard duty for a simple babysitting job, he couldn't have been happier.

"I dunno," Zelda muttered, not sharing in the guards excitement, "whatever you want, sir."

"I know who can give us an idea," Jeremy began, a glint in his eye.

"No no that's okay I think I thought of something actually-"

"Mr. Bird can!" Jeremy half-shouted excitedly, pulling out a mask from seemingly nowhere. Zelda groaned, but the Guard didn't seem to notice as he happily adjusted the mask to his face. "Hello there Zelda! *squawk* My name is Mr. Bird! *squawk*" To give the young man credit, he really got into the roll. He even flapped his arms like they were wings when he made the bird noises.

Zelda laughed nervously as she said, "Hello… Mr. Bird."

Jeremy squawked again and flapped his arms.

As he opened his mouth (beak) to say something else in his strange voice for his character, Zelda cut him off as a slightly devious plan crossed her mind.

"I have a game I really want to play!" She half-demanded as she uncrossed her arms, a little to excited.

"Oh you do? *Squawk* what's it called?" Jeremy asked, tilting his head as far as it would go to the left.

"Hide and seek," She tried to remain calm and collected. "Have you heard of it?"

"Of course! *Squawk* I love that game! You hide and I count? *squawk*" The guard asked as he began to half-waddle over to a rock where he could put his head down.

"N-no that's impolite of me!" Zelda held out her hand to stop him, "you should go first! A-after all I came up with the game. It's only right," she finished by crossing her arms behind her back and smiling nervously. She wasn't the best at scheming.

However, Jeremy didn't seem to notice, "well that's nice of you Princess- Uh I mean Zelda. *Squawk* So I'll go hide and you seek?"

"Yes," Zelda couldn't hide her relief as she started to jog over to the rock Jeremy was about to count on, "I'll count to one hundred and let you hide."

"Now hold on Zelda *squawk*," Jeremy's words made her fight back an exasperated scream, "Mr Bird thinks we need to establish a few *squawk* rules to make sure this is a safe game," Zelda couldn't help but wonder what was unsafe about hide and seek. "We can only hide in this section of the village *squawk* okay?"

"Yes that's fine," Zelda agreed with a nod as she crouched by the rock and folded her hands on it, "is there anything else?"

"No going into other peoples houses *squawk* Mr. Bird says that's rude," Jeremy clarified with a wag of his finger. Zelda had already gotten into ready position however, and had put her head in her arms against the small boulder.

"Okay!" She agreed with a muffled call, "whenever you're ready!"

"Alright not yet *squawk*," Jeremy responded. Zelda heard some shuffling, then a yell from further away called, "you can count now!"

Zelda only counted to about ten before she took a peek around. Jeremy was no where in sight, so she let her counting drawl out into nothing as she stood up and brushed dirt from her purple, casual dress. She took a suspicious look around, as if not make sure he wasn't standing right next to her, or Impa wouldn't magically materialize and begin to chastise her. She glanced to her right one more time. Then to her left.

Then she began a full-out sprint to the part of the village where Jeremy said not to go.

She wasn't wearing the best running shoes, they were little white mary janes that clicked when she walked, but that certainly didn't stop her. She was no stranger to sneaking out, though this was certainly one of her more juvenile attempts. Usually her escape plans just involved going out to her garden at night when she was supposed to be sleeping, or sneaking into castle town for about an hour before Impa found her and yelled at her. Now though, she had all day to do whatever she wanted! Until Jeremy caught on, that is.

Zelda turned to look over her shoulder at what she had just run from. She couldn't see the strange guard anywhere, and she had certainly made process. She had crossed the border of their hide and seek game when she made it past the cucco lady. Laughing maniacally, she began to turn her head back around to face where she was running.

However, it was too little too late. She faced forward just long enough to see her body smash _hard_ into an unsuspecting the victim in front of her. The collision sent her skittering backward onto her behind, and made her head ache from the direction shift. She squeaked out a 'ow' and rubbed her throbbing behind, eyes shut in pain.

"Holy Din!" An exasperated voice called from in front of her. Zelda opened her eyes wide, almost forgetting about the person she had crashed into, "what did I ever do to you?!" the adolescent voice complained.

Zelda stood up in a panic, running over to the wheat-blond boy she had also sent to the ground. "Oh Nayru I'm sorry! I didn't see you," she began, offering a hand up to the boy.

He half-glared at her with brilliant blue eyes. Zelda couldn't help but think they looked like the sky on its most cloudless day. His skin was sun-kissed as evidence from spending a lot of time outdoors, the opposite of her own. Though his face was in a scowl, he looked pretty cute, and he seemed to be about her height. He was wearing brown shorts and a simple, puffy white shirt, which was now covered in dirt, no thanks to Zelda. Also a simple pair of fingerless, leather gloves. He was rubbing his head in pain when she ran over to him.

"You didn't see me?" He echoed sassily, "you rammed me dead on in this practically empty road and you didn't _see me_?"

"Uh," Zelda retracted her hand in sight fear, "yes?"

"Geez," the boy pushed himself up, glancing down at his clothing as he attempted to shake off the dirt, but to no avail. He gave up and looked over at Zelda again, slightly threateningly, "You pushed me on the ground, ruined my clothes, and you haven't even told me your name?" He commented, raising a brow at her.

"Huh? Oh no I didn't mean to not tell you my..." he simply stared, Zelda sighed. "My name is Zelda."

The boy was silent for a moment, as if pondering her words to him. Then, his lips quirked into a smirk, which eventually evolved to a full on grin as he snickered to himself.

"What?" Zelda asked, wondering what was so funny about what she just said that changed his mood.

"Nothing," he said through his giggles, bending down to pick up something he dropped when he fell.

"No really, what?" She pressed, slightly self conscious as she crossed her arms at him.

"Your name," he grinned a big grin, which for some reason Zelda felt was fitting to his face, but it still didn't stop her exasperated question of:

"Oh. Wait, what's so funny about my name?!" She demanded, putting her hands on her hips.

"It's stupid," His grin turned cocky as he spoke, he put his scattered belongings in a bag tied to his belt.

Zelda was utterly scandalized. "It is not stupid! You're stupid!" She countered, pointing an accusatory finger.

"It is too," the boy prompted, ignoring her pathetic come back, "It's like Zel, _duh_, like you're saying your name is Zel and then saying _duh_ like I should have already known that. Duh," he then snickered to himself some more, "you just _sound_ stupid saying it."

"It's not Zel-duh, it's Zelda!" She angrily defended. The boy laughed a little more.

"Nope no difference!"

"Why you…" she trailed, too mad to really say anything back. No one had ever said her name was stupid! Then again, her name was usually following the word 'Princess' so it was no wonder. Was it really that stupid?!

She didn't want to ponder the thought. She'd wasted too much time with this kid as it was. She was going to _enjoy_ her fleeting hours of freedom. Without another word, she began to stomp away from the boy, pushing his snickering form aside as she went by him.

"Hey wait!" He called after her, quelling his laughter, "you're not gonna leave just because I made fun of your name a little are you Zel?" She didn't stop walking, but she did slow down a little. "You pushed me down on the ground remember? We're even!" This time she froze.

He really wanted her to stay? Why was that?

"_If_ we call it Even Stevens," She began, spinning on her heel to face him, "you have to promise not to be mean anymore."

"Sure," he agreed, smiling at her as he added, "do you have anywhere to be? Cause I was just about to play a game that's more of a two person job," She didn't know why, but the glint in his eyes made her feel a little uncomfortable. However, she didn't really have any friends her age. At all. And he seemed to be right around ten years old, just like her. She'd never played with someone like that.

"What kind of game?" She inquired, walking up to him with her brow quirked. She tried to hide her excitement at him asking her to join in.

"The kind where you get cake after," he answered vaguely.

"I like cake," Zelda verbalized, looking to the side slightly as she thought about it.

"Great! So you see those con-sum-uh-struction workers over there?" He asked, nodding his head in the direction of a few burly men who were stacking bricks on a wood-framed outline. "They have the cake."

"Do we ask them for it?" Zelda's voice quivered a little. They really were scary looking.

"No silly!" He shook his head at her ignorance, "we take it."

"Take it?" Zelda echoed. Her eyes grew wide and she spun back around to face him. "But that's _stealing!_"

"Yeah," he met her gaze, "so?"

"I don't steal," She shook her head and crossed her arms, refusing to participate in the little boy's 'game.'

"'Don't' or 'haven't yet'?" the boy pushed the subject, trying to get her to look at him again.

"Don't! Do not!" Zelda repeated forcefully, uncrossing her arms as she bunched her hands into fits at her sides.

"Okay then don't think of it as stealing! Think of it as . . . regifting!" The boy's eyes lit up as if he thought of something genius.

"It's still stealing, no matter what you call it," Zelda defended. She couldn't believe she got her hopes up so high over this. Was this really how people her age played? Or was it just that this boy was weird?

"Well what if I told you that those men are bad people," he mentioned earnestly. Zelda's gaze softened a little as he spoke.

"Bad people?" She repeated, "what do you mean?"

"See that big one over there," the blond boy turned her so she was looking toward the construction workers again, and then pointed a little to the left in Zelda's line of vision. She noticed a particularly large man who was heaving a whole bag of bricks over to where a few others were slapping them on with cement.

"Yeah I see him," she stared at the man as he went about his business.

"He eats babies," the boy concluded.

"He does not!" Zelda shouted at him.

"Does so!" he defended, his eyes wide while he nodded vigorously. "That's all he eats actually. Babies," he stopped for a moment, but then added "and cake."

"That man does _not_ eat _babies_!" Zelda refused to believe his weird, messed up lie.

"Yes he does! And that skinny one putting the bricks in place," Zelda didn't want to, but she looked to see a tall, lanky man who seemed to be struggling to lift even one brick at a time. "Every time he sees a puppy. . ." the boy paused for dramatic effect, "he kicks it!"

"Stop it," Zelda scolded, looking away.

"And kittens!"

"I'm not going to steal!"

"C'mon it's just for fun! Not even a whole cake just a half of one! They won't even miss it," the boy promised, giving her the same puppy dog look she used so often when she really wanted someone to do something for her.

"No," she stated simply.

"Please?"

"No."

"Pretty please?"

"NO!" Zelda half-shouted, "You're not going to get me to _steal_ anything! I don't care what it is, how much of it, or who it's from, I _don't steal_."

* * *

"I can't believe I'm doing this," Zelda sulked, standing next to the strange boy who she desperately regretted crashing into.

"It's just a little cake," the boy consoled, from his crouched position, peering into a small hole in the newly-built house that the workers were currently using as a lounge area while they built the house's sister next to it. Apparently, the boy had been planning this mission for two days now, he just wanted to get all of the mechanics right. Also, there are a lot of figures to stealing. Apparently.

First he had to find the times of day when the workers were on break. He scoped that out for three days just to make sure it wasn't a coincidence. He had found the small hole which would only be able to fit a child such as himself and Zelda, a flaw in the building that they workers just tried to cover up by putting boxes in front of, a few days ago. Immediately he started to plan to steal _something_, though he didn't know what, until he realised that the construction workers got _cake_ every single day! He'd only had cake one time before, and he really wanted to try it again.

First, he had to go inside and see what he could work with, but not take anything. He slowly moved the boxes inside the house that were put there to cover the hole, to form a path for him to fit in against the wall. Then, he moved the box outside to cover the hole again, just to make sure that the workers didn't notice it and try to fix it before he pulled off his big heist. When he showed Zelda, all he had to do was move the box out of the way, check the time, and proceed with his plan.

He stood back up after assuring that the way was clear, and promoted Zelda to go in.

"After you Mi'lady," he gestured jokingly, while she just scowled.

"Why do I have to go first?" She challenged, crossing her arms. He rolled his eyes.

"It was a joke Zel, cool it," he went on all fours again, his eyes on the small entry way to the house.

"And another thing," Zelda continued, making him sigh in annoyance. "I still don't know your name. I'm about to _steal_ something for you and you never even told me what to call you," her voice wasn't angry anymore, just curious.

"First off, it's not _for_ me, it's _with_ me," he gave her a charming smile. "And my name is- wait a minute," he looked up at her excitedly, "we should use code names!"

Zelda liked that idea. "Hey yeah!" she agreed and nodded vigorously. That certainly made it seem more like a game.

"How about this," the boy proposed, readying himself to crawl through the small space as he said, "you'll be Zel, and I'll be 'Duh,' get it?" He snickered at himself, Zelda couldn't help but giggle too.

"That's stupid!" She shook her head at him, and he just gave her a knowing glance.

"Stupid?" He echoed, "what about that name is stupid?!" He made his voice go higher as he spoke in order to imitate a girl. He also waved his hand dramatically for added effect.

"Shut up," Zelda crossed her arms at him, which made him laugh as he began to make his way through the crawl space. However, something dawned on the girl which made her lung for the boy's boot in order to stop him from going any further.

"Wait a minute!" She whisper-yelled to him through the hole, "how come our 'code names' are just my _full name_ and not yours!?" she removed her hand in order to get a better look at him through the hole.

"Are you coming or what?" Was the boys only answer.

Huffing, Zelda flopped down on the ground, pulling herself through the small opening with her elbows mostly, and sliding along a little with her legs. As her clothing dragged along the dirt, she couldn't help but feel a little bit of excitement. Kids her age are always dirty, right? They were always getting into mischief and causing trouble. Taking little things like cakes that could be easily replaced and not missed, and just doing it for the laughs. Or at least, that's what they do according to . . . 'Duh.'

She finally poked her pigtailed blonde head through the other end. 'Duh' had wormed his way in much faster, like a snake, but she had more difficulty. It was probably the dress. The boy had had enough time to take out something that was in the bag around his belt, and was holding it loosely in his hand as his eager face greeted Zelda on the other side. They were, as the boy said they would be, behind two relatively large boxes. Large enough that when they were in sitting position, they were naturally shorter than them. The boxes contained multiple things for building, such as roofing and flooring, and there were some bags of cement on the other side of the room.

Directly in front of them, across the room and away from the shelter of the boxes, was a table. On the table, multiple plates and mugs were placed sporadically around. However, that wasn't what caught the eye of the two children. What was interesting to them, was a pretty, thick, delicious looking white cake that was already about two-thirds of the way completed. It rested on a large silver plate, and was rather close to the edge of the table.

Unfortunately for them though, a few male voices could very clearly be heard from elsewhere inside the building.

"Are you ready?" The boy asked Zelda in a whisper, reading the item he had in his hand.

This mystery item, Zelda noticed, actually appeared to be a well-crafted slingshot. It was wooden and smooth, and though it's band seemed a little worn from use, it was still sturdy. He had a small stack of rocks on the ground next to him which he likely also pulled from his pouch, and had one in his hand already.

"I guess," Zelda nodded, using a hushed tone herself as she added, "what's the plan?"

"Well there are about," the boy stretched a little from his seated position, looking over the boxes just ever so slightly, before he plopped back down and continued to talk, "three people in here now, I wasn't expecting that," he seemed to think for a second. "But I guess that's why you're here!"

Zelda gulped, "what do I do?"

The boy nodded to the delectable pastry only a few yards ahead of them and said, "on my signal, crawl over there, grab the cake, and then wait for me to signal you back, okay?"

"What?!" Zelda asked breathlessly, slightly panicking. "I'm the cake grabber? Why am I the cake grabber?!"

"Because I have the slingshot," the boy grinned a pretty, white grin, then turned away from her to look over the side of the boxes again. Zelda let out a shaky breath as she proceeded to give herself an inward pep-talk.

The boy started to load the slingshot, making Zelda look curiously up at him as he did so. She slowly brought her head up to peak at the sight before them as well, seeing the three men for the first time. They had their backs slightly turned away from them, but that didn't mean they wouldn't see someone skittering across the floor from only about ten feet away.

Suddenly, the slingshot released with an almost silent flick, the rock landing hard on one of the larger man's rear-end. He yelled out a howl, and immediately turned to the skinny man beside him.

"Oi! What the hell was that for?!" The large man shouted, shoving the other a little by the shoulder as his other hand rubbed his injured rump.

"What was what for? Don't shove me!" The other retaliated, looking just as angry as he pushed the aggressor with two hands.

"Do you want to start somethin' punk!?" The one that was hit by the sling shot demanded, lifting his fists in the air.

"Guy's calm down," the third man who wasn't involved in the quarrel tried weakly, but to no avail.

"I wanna start somethin' if you got the balls to fight me!"

"Now," the boy grabbed Zelda's shoulder and brought her down behind the boxes again, then started to push her futher out. Her only response was a whimper as she crawled a little, reaching the edge of the two boxes that they were using for shelter. She looked back at the boy one more time, the look on her face was as if it was the last time she would ever see anyone again. He only smiled at her and winked, then brought his slingshot back up over the box-barricade, showing her that he had her covered.

As quietly as possible, Zelda began to crawl across the cement floor to the other side of the room. She was too afraid to look over her shoulder at the men tussling only a few feet away from her, and just kept her eyes focused on the little crevice between wall, and table which she had almost reached. Her elbows felt like they were going to give out on her she was so nervous, but she crawled relatively fast for the amount of noise she was making.

Finally, after what was only a few seconds, but what felt like hours, she reached the side of the table. Desperately, she pressed herself against it. Breathing erratically as she tried to calm her heart. She spared a wide-eyed look over at the boy who was making her do this, as he had put his slingshot down and gave a thumbs up, though he still looked like he was in a position to quickly load if necessary. Zelda simply blinked and briskly shook her head at him.

The boy looked over the edge of the boxes, then back at Zelda. He then made a strange circular motion with his hand that Zelda didn't fully understand. Furrowing her brow, she began to crawl towards him again, but he desperately mouthed the word 'stop' and held his hand out in a halting gesture until she slinked back against the table.

Now, he mouthed the word 'cake' repeatedly, making circular motions to his mouth and chewing obnoxiously, as if spooning in cake. Zelda nodded, remembering why she was over there in her 'deer-in-torchlight' type state.

Carefully, she turned around onto her knees, and slowly lifted her body up. She could see the men arguing and shoving each other, but turned all attention onto the cake. It was only a mere arms length away, she could reach it from here. Stretching her limbs as far as they would go across the table, her soft fingertips made contact with the cold silver of the cake-plate. She bit her lip as she slowly tugged the plate over to her, eventually making it close enough for both hands to grasp hold of while she pulled it eagerly to herself.

However, she slid it a little too fast, and the metal of the plate made a rather loud rubbing sound against the wood when it hit the table's edge. Zelda didn't address it, as if she pretended she didn't hear it, then no one would.

"Boys!" One of the three men shouted over the chaos, making the other two stop bickering for a moment "what was that?"

The room was eerily silent. Zelda was extremely aware of her own breathing as she glanced at the boy across from her who was mouthing words too fast for her to catch and gesturing wildly.

"Eh," another man perked up curiously, "is it just me or there something over by the table there?"

Zelda couldn't move. She couldn't breathe. All she could do was stare helplessly at the boy who lead her into this mess, and he stared helplessly back at her. She mouthed to him the words 'I'm sorry,' and held the cake closer to her as if it could bring her salvation as she heard footsteps break the silence. Closing her eyes and turning her head away from him, she waited for the eminent arrival of the-

"AHHHHHHHHHH!"

Zelda's eyes snapped open as she heard a piercingly loud scream, that just seemed to keep going and going, and increasing in volume.

"Holy shit it's a kid?!"

"What's a kid doing in- OW!"

Said boy who had dragged her in here apparently decided that if they were going down, they were going down screaming. Literally.

Zelda starred with her mouth agape as 'Duh' stood on top of the boxes that had been concealing him, his slingshot flinging rocks so fast his hand was a blurr. The construction workers didn't really know what to do. The one that had been approaching Zelda changed course, and slightly retreated to get away from the shower of rocks. Another one was attempting to make his way _over_ to the boy, despite the constant pelting of pebbles. He wasn't making much progress though, and he looked _extremely_ mad.

It was then that Zelda understood what the boy wanted her to do. Still clinging to the silver plate of cake, she jumped up from her hiding spot and ran across the room, her eyes glued to the hole in the wall which would grant her freedom.

"Is that _another_ kid?!" One of them shouted.

"What the hell? She has our cake!" Another yelled back.

"Just rush the boy! He can't hit all of us at once!" The final decided as they all began to make their way toward the two children.

Apparently however, the boy _could_ hit them all at once.

Zelda didn't stop to see how the scene before her was progressing. As long as 'Duh' was still screaming, they hadn't caught him yet. Immediately, she shoved the cake all the way through the hole, sliding it out the other side. She crawled as fast as she could, grabbing on the edge of the bricks as soon as she reached them, and pulled herself out into daylight, next to the cake. She cradled it in her arms and prepared to run as soon as the boy crawled out.

Then, something truly terrifying happened.

The yelling stopped.

Zelda's heart skipped a beat. Had he been captured? Was he hurt? Did they eat him? Should she run? She kept glancing between the hole in the wall, and the walk to freedom. If she ran now she would be safe, but could she just leave the boy behind when he risked everything to save her?

"There she is!" Zelda heard one of the men shout as they emerged from the other end of the house. "Get her!"

The men started toward her in a half-run, every one of them looking more angry than she'd ever seen anyone look in her life. Still, she didn't move.

Just as Zelda accepted her fate, her foot got struck by something and made her glance down at a little wooden object, one that was finely crafted into. . .

A slingshot?

Just as Zelda had enough time to process what was happening, 'Duh' practically shot himself out of the crevice in the wall, grabbed his slingshot, bounced up on his feet, and had grabbed Zelda by the wrist. He didn't even say anything, he just yanked her as fast as his feet could take him in the opposite direction of their pursuers. Zelda stumbled for a moment, but was quickly able to match his sprint with her own as they ran into the crowd of people before them.

They dodged as many things as they possibly could, making many an innocent civilian drop whatever item they were carrying in surprise as the boy practically flung Zelda into them. She braved a look back, as she tended to do when in full-sprint, and to her horror, she saw the three men closing in on them. They weren't being nearly as gentle with the bystanders either, they were just shoving them aside and shouting profanities. Zelda felt a surge of adrenaline as she turned back around. They wouldn't be able to keep running, they would have to hide somewhere.

"This way!" She shouted to the boy holding onto her wrist as she began to take the lead. He didn't object, he simply followed as she lead him to something she had passed a little earlier that she thought might be perfect.

* * *

"Where'd they go?!" The smallest man demanded, stopping for a moment as he glanced around desperately.

The largest of the group was practically doubled over, wheezing as his massive chest went up and down far too quickly for his liking. "When I get my hands on those two runts. . ." he let his threat trail on. Mostly because he ran out of breath to speak with.

"Shh!" The third man hissed violently, looking around with crazy eyes he asked, "do you hear that?"

"Hear what?"

"Shh!"

"It almost sounds like . . . giggling?"

At those words, the strange childlike laughter grew slightly louder. The men whipped around, but didn't see any children near them. Yet somehow, the noise seemed to be coming from . . . the cucco pen?

Slowly, the trio approached it, murder in their eyes while they regarded the innocent white birds. The laughter grew louder, and also hushing sounds were being attempted. One of the men leaned down towards the pen, trying to see through the mound of feathers if there was anything else there. He began to reach his hand out, his two friends directly next to him as he did so.

"CUCCO ATTACK!" A boy shouted, jumping up and sending a mass of cuccos upwards in a panic and onto the three men who were approaching the pen. He grabbed Zelda's hand this time as she still held the unscathed cake protectively in her other arm. They hopped the fence and ran, laughing evilly as the three construction workers tried to fend off the terrified cuccos enough to see.

Zelda let the boy lead her up a small hill, and between a pathway that was formed by two cliff structures. Eventually, the pathway opened up to a rather creepy looking sight. Stone slabs with depressing engravings layered the clearing in a neat fashion. The ground turned to cobble stone, and continued up onto more hills, each filled with more barricades of gravestones, a fence wrapping around it's exterior.

The place where the boy had brought Zelda was none other than Kakariko's graveyard.

He didn't give Zelda long to sight see, for immediately upon entry, he took a sharp right to the only building located in the entire yard.

It was a shack to say the least. Dark wood which seemed to be old and possibly molding, unevenly pounded together into a square shape with one window, and one door that had a name plate reading 'Graveyard keeper.' The door is what 'Duh' was interested in.

He began to pound on the structure violently. "Dampe! Dampe!" He repeated, "open up, quick!"

"_Damn it, I'm coming_," came the muffled, tired voice of another human. Slowly, the door creaked open, which was all the invitation the blond boy needed to shove his way through, still toting Zelda along as he yanked her in as well.

"What's the meaning of-" the grave keeper cut himself off as he looked at the little boy in front of him, panting and leaning heavily against the door. His eyes widened in surprise at his appearance "Li-"

"We brought cake!" The boy cut him off before he could be kicked out, and Zelda weakly held up the pristine white pastry to show him. It really was a miracle the thing survived.

Dampe blinked at the two kids for a moment, the only sound in the house was the hard breathing as the two attempted to calm their hearts. Then, he began to smile, and soon it turned into a hearty laugh.

"Well, I would act surprised, but honestly this has happened about ten times now with this one," Dampe grinned an almost-toothless grin at Zelda, who returned it with her own sweet, dimpled one. Honestly, she wasn't surprised either.

* * *

". . . and did you see the big ones _face_ when you threw the cucco at him?" Zelda prompted, making the other break off into a fit of hysterics.

"That was _nothing_ compared to the look on _your_ face when they heard you take the cake off of the table!" He responded through giggles, which made Zelda laugh even harder.

"You're one to talk! It looked like you were making a shadow puppet play over there!" She fell on her back and clutched her stomach at the memory, making the boy shove her slightly, but fall on his back in laughter as well.

They stayed like that for a moment, both smiling and laughing at that days events as the sun began to slink away in the sky, taking that wonderful day with it.

Once they told Dampe about what happened, he just gave a roaring laugh and let them cut the cake. They shared it evenly, after all they got a pretty big piece, and none were disappointed in it. Maybe it tasted better to the children since they practically risked their lives to retrieve it. Either way, they eventually left Dampe's house to let him sleep since he was working the night shift, and just stayed in the graveyard as they were too afraid of the village. It was here that they _actually_ played childhood approved games such as: two-person tag, hop-scotch, and a weird version of capture the flag. Zelda didn't know if she'd ever had that much fun in her entire life.

Eventually though, the two children got tired, migrated up to the top of the graveyard and just talked. Zelda also didn't know it was so _easy_ to open up to someone after only one day. It was probably the age, or so she decided. They'd talked about that too, and as it turns out, he _was_ ten, just like her!

"The sunset is so pretty in Kakariko," Zelda observed, staring up at it as she supported her torso on her elbows.

"You think so?" Her friend asked, getting up into a sitting position to angle himself better as he squinted at the sky. "I think it looks way better where I'm from."

"Why's that?" Zelda asked, her eyebrow raised.

"No clouds. Also, it's all flat, so you can see the sun go down the whole way. No trees or buildings either, just all sun," he explained with a small smile.

"Where do you live?" Zelda asked him curiously, turning her gaze away from the sunset to look at him.

"The West. One of my sisters and I are here to get some supplies, then we're gonna head back. We do this like, once a month," He elaborated, then leaned back into his hands and looked more at the sky.

"Oh," Zelda said vaguely. This visit would probably be the last time they saw each other then. She cleared her throat and continued, "I live North of here in Castle town. Our sunsets aren't very good," she thought, scrunching up her nose. The large buildings and trees got in the way of it too easily.

"Castle town? No way!" The boy seemed earnestly interested, which surprised Zelda. "I've always wanted to go there! The city seems so cool! Kakariko's the biggest place I've ever been to," he admitted, but he seemed to want Zelda to continue on about her life in Castle Town. That wasn't good. It was kind of a lie.

"It's not that cool," She muttered, looking away from him.

"Are you kidding? There's so much to _do_ there!" The boy defended. "You can do whatever you want! You can play arcade games, play with a bunch of other people, pick-pocket tourists, and go to the market whenever you want," he finished, listing things off on his fingers. Zelda couldn't help but wonder what kind of place he lived in if there was no market.

"What do you do for fun then?" She wondered, trying to picture what kind of place the boy could have possibly described.

"I ride my horse," he answered automatically, then corrected himself with, "well, not _my_ horse, she's too young to ride. But when she's big, I'll be big too, and I'll ride her all over Hyrule," He grinned at Zelda, "and I'll visit you in Castle Town!"

Zelda blinked back her surprise as her cheeks turned a slight shade of pink.

"You . . . you'd want to visit me?"

"Well _duh_," he emphasized with a funny face, "you're my friend. Of course I'm gonna visit my friends."

Zelda almost wanted to cry in happiness. He called her his friend. He called her his friend! She sat there with a dumb smile on her face for quite the while, dwelling on the word. She supposed she was taking too long to respond, because he eventually followed his comment up with:

"Even if you are a spoiled brat," he said with a shrug. That brought Zelda back from from her happy stupor.

"Well _you're_ a big jerk," she retaliated, crossing her arms over her chest and flopping on her back.

"And you're a frog-face," He continued, smiling deviously.

"And you're a pig-head!" Zelda sat up to glare at him, and he happily returned the stare.

Then, in perfect synchronization, they both began to laugh at one another good naturedly.

Zelda couldn't believe she actually made a friend! Even if he was a terrible friend that made her steal and called her names and picked on her for no real reason. He was still her friend. Her real friend who didn't just act like he liked her because she was a princess. In fact, she found his rudeness strangely refreshing. She couldn't wait to tell Impa!

Impa. . .

IMPA!

Zelda jumped up from her comfortable seat in the grass, eyes wide and heartbeat erratic for about the millionth time that day.

"What's the matter?" The boy asked, looking at her like she was crazy.

"I'm late! I have to go!" Zelda frantically spat out as she started to run down the hill, hardly keeping herself from tripping.

"Wait go where? To the village?" The boy asked curiously, then followed it up with, "are you okay to go alone? What about the worker guys?" He stood up himself, confused at her sudden urgency.

"I'll take my chances!" She called, already halfway through the graveyard, "See ya later, Duh!"

"See ya Zel- oh wait no did I seriously not tell you my real name?!" He shouted after the fleeing girl, which made her stop dead in her tracks.

"NO!" She called angrily back at him, almost forgetting herself, which made him laugh blatantly at his own weird joke.

"My name is Link!"

"That's a _stupid_ name!"

"You're stupid!"

With that, Zelda smiled to herself and continued to run out of the graveyard. Though she knew she would undoubtedly be reprimanded beyond reason, she still felt a strange feeling of contentedness.

* * *

**Well there ya go! Don't forget to review, and thanks for reading (:**


	3. Chapter 2

**A/N Hello again, and welcome to the second chapter of The Hero of Theives!**

**I'm not totally happy with what I did with this chapter, though it was necessary so, it is what it is. There's only one more chapter with Link and Zelda as children after this one. I gathered that the general consensus on them being kids was 'Liked it, but when does stuff happen?!' which I totally get. **

**Stuff will definitely happen.**

**Anyways, I'm not sure about the T rating of this fic. I did it just to be safe, and it will become much more adult. However, it will also retain a more light hearted humor, it's just how I write. Though it will get dark at times, of that I'm sure.**

**Really it depends. So if one day you randomly see that this fic is rated K+, don't be surprised, hehe**

**Anyways, please enjoy the chapter!**

**I do not own Legend of Zelda**

* * *

The lovely, upbeat tune played smoothly over the slight chatter of villagers, and the occasional cluck of the cucco. The player tried his very best to focus on nothing but the holes of the ocarina, and how his fingers danced over them delicately. His brow furrowed at the effort of recalling every note. He wasn't doing it as quickly as he should be. Saria played much faster, and it sounded much more beautiful when she did it.

Eventually, his friend's song came to an end, and the boy sighed as he removed his pretty little ocarina from his lips to glare at it slightly.

"That was magnificent Link!" The girl next to him practically shouted as she shifted onto her knees and pounded her fists up and down for emphasis. Her face was flushed in excitement at hearing him play, which made him grin a little. He wasn't really sure what 'magnificent' meant but he deduced that it was a good thing.

"Nah it really wasn't," he denied, rubbing the back of his neck in slight embarrassment as he added, "the song is supposed to go faster than that, and I messed up a couple of times."

"I think it sounded the best that way!" Zelda pressed, shaking her head.

"How would you know?" Link raised a brow, "you've never heard it the right way before."

"The right way was that way!"

"You're hopeless," Link smiled and punched her shoulder, but eagerly brought his ocarina up to position again, "I have more songs I can play better, that other one I'm still learning," Link confessed. It wasn't often anyone was so impressed with something he did, and he certainly didn't mind playing for such a happy audience.

"Like what?" Zelda asked, rubbing the spot on her arm where Link had hit her a few moments ago.

"I made one for my horse! She really likes it when I play," he explained, readying his fingers, "maybe even more than you."

"Then that one!" She prompted, pushing down on his knee as if it would make him start the song faster.

The boy happily obliged as he began the much less complicated, and naturally more slow song he had created for his little foal Epona. Zelda listened just as pleasantly as she had the first song he played. He thought it was a little strange that she was so keen on the music and nothing else, it really _had_ impressed her! She wasn't looking around in boredom or anything!

Goddess that girl was strange.

As his own song came to an end, he felt much better about it. He'd rehearsed that one many a time, and it went over quite smoothly if you asked him.

"Wow!" Zelda's eyes sparkled.

"Really, I'm not that good," Link promised the girl. Though he liked the attention, he felt that it was undeserved, "you should hear my friend Saria play," then he added teasingly, "you might pass out from excitement."

"Is that the person who taught you the first song?" Zelda asked observantly.

"Yeah she is," he held up his ocarina, "she also made me this-" he trailed off as Zelda snatched it from his hand.

"She's amazing!" She breathed as she inspected the instrument thoroughly, running her hands over the smooth, hard wood.

"Yeah she's the best," Link agreed reminiscently as he smiled. He noticed a sort of sad look cross the girls face at that, which was a complete change from the five seconds ago when she had excitedly forced him to play her a song after accidentally dropping his little instrument from his pouch.

"What do you guys do for fun?" She asked, but her voice had dropped from happy, to a weird monotone thing that didn't really fit her.

"Uh," Link began, looking at her strangely, "well, Saria doesn't like to ride, but she's super good at thieving!"

"Really?" Zelda's voice went from dry, to straight up disappointed as she just gave the boy a look.

"Mmhm," Link continued, ignoring her disapproval, "she usually pretends to play the ocarina for money from travelers, and then me and Mido sneak into their buggies and take stuff when they stop to give her rupees!"

"Mido?" Zelda chose to ignore the rest of the story.

"He's another one of Saria's friends,"

"Oh," the sad tone returned

"I hate him."

"Oh," she looked at him quizzically.

"What do you and your friends do for fun?" Link asked in an effort to bring her mood up again. However, it only seemed to work in the reverse as the girl's eyes widened and she began to panic.

"M-my friends?" She echoed, looking at the ground as if she was searching for answers.

". . . Yeah," Link attempted to meet her gaze, while she continued to avoid looking at him, "Zel what's wrong with you?!"

"Nothing's wrong!" She denied quickly, and then sprang up from her seat in the grass as she set her eyes on a random building in the distance, "I'm restless, we should go play an arcade game!" She proclaimed as she numbly began to walk toward the other end of the village

"What?" Link was irreparably confused as he watched the girl stumble off. With a sigh, he accepted the change in topic and allowed her weird behavior to be let go. For now. He stood up himself and slightly jogged to catch up to her.

"That game right there," Zelda pointed to one of the smaller buildings not too far away from them. Link squinted at the sign which read 'Shooting Gallery. Use whatever you want to shoot with, win prizes! Only ten rupees a go!'

The boy nodded, thinking of his slingshot, "yeah that sounds like fun I guess," he crossed his arms over his chest as he turned his attention to the girl once more, "but Zel-"

"Yes?" She had calmed down a little as she finally met his gaze.

"We don't have any money."

"Oh . . ." She trailed off for a moment, before adding "I guess I should've gotten some from Impa before she left, huh."

"Impa?" Link echoed, "is that the lady who yelled at you that night we met?" He scrunched his nose in distaste

"Yeah," Zelda flinched a little at the memory. "She only yelled because I made my babysitter cry by running away though. She's really not that bad."

"Well you know her best I guess," Link shrugged, "besides, she let you go unsupervised after that, right?"

". . . Sure," Zelda said noncommittally, and then took a septic glance around Kakariko. Link didn't really notice the action, as he was busy looking around the town for his own reasons. His hungry gaze settled on a group of three or four bystanders bartering with a street vendor not too far away from them. If they were looking to buy goods, then they would certainly have a fair amount of cash on them. A maniacal smile crossed his angelic face as he locked on target.

Zelda took note of this, regarding the boy with a quirked brow.

"I think I know where we can make money," Link announced. The already suspicious Zelda followed her friend's hard gaze to the vendor's shop. She sucked in a breath as her hands slipped to her hips authoritatively.

"No way," she scolded. Link simply gave her a look that said 'I got you to do it once, didn't I?'

"C'mon Zel," he prompted, gesturing to the townspeople a little ways away, "just a little from each! I promise they won't notice."

"That's not the point!" Zelda defended, absolutely refusing to let go of her morals again. "Those people worked for their money, taking it from them is unjust," there she went, using words Link didn't understand again. He really hated it when she did that.

"Who says taking it from them fair and square isn't hard work?" He pointed out. The girl just sighed, shaking her head at him.

"That's _not_ work. Work is making money doing stuff you're good at," Link opened his mouth for a snarky comment, but she quickly continued with, "not _taking _money. Making it."

"Well I'm not _good_ at anything," Link said with an annoyed tone, "nothing except stealing."

"I'm not really good at anything period," Zelda agreed, dropping her shoulders.

The two were silent for a moment. Zelda lost in thought, while Link was already starting to plan his battle strategy for pulling off a mass pickpocket. If he could just take ten rupees from each person, they wouldn't even notice a change in their wallets. He could wait until they were distracted by their purchases, maybe when they took out their wallets to buy something. They would put them back carelessly, and Link would see where they were located on each respective person.

"I've got it!" Zelda's sudden yell made Link jump slightly in surprise. He had been pretty focused on sizing up the people rather than the girl next to him.

"Got what?" Link asked, furrowing his brow.

"You're great at the ocarina," Zelda asserted, beaming at him. Link groaned at her, rolling his eyes while she practically bounced up and down.

"I told you, I'm not that good," he insisted, and then with a little confusion added "and even if I was, how would someone make money playing the _ocarina?_" Link stared at the girl like she was crazy

"You said travelers stop to listen to Saria all the time!" Zelda pointed out as she started to tug on the rim of Link's sleeve. The boy took note of her activity with a raised brow.

"Yeah but she's _really_ good," he chose to ignore her cloth tugging, "and besides, we didn't make any real money that way. We made it by _stealing_," he wasn't ready to give up his stance just yet.

"Please Link," Zelda started swaying slightly as she pulled lightly on his shirt. Her big, dark blue eyes seemed to somehow get bigger as she jutted her lower lip out slightly. Link found himself unable to look away from her like he knew he should, as her face became more and more sad.

"Zel . . ." Link trailed, not really knowing what to say. He had a feeling he knew exactly what she was doing, yet he was powerless to stop it.

"I did it your way once," she tilted her head down so she was looking up at him through her dark lashes, "won't you do this for me?"

The boy just stared at her for a moment, not saying anything as her gaze continued to bore into his own reluctant eyes. He seemed to be fighting an inward battle, and he seemed to be losing.

Finally, the boy sighed loudly, muttering, "_fine_, I'll try it your way," as he slumped in defeat.

"Yay!" Zelda cheered, letting go of him and losing her pouty facade.

"Spoiled Brat," Link hissed, annoyed mostly at his own weak will. Zelda however, didn't address his comment with a response.

.

The children used an old, empty pot they had found to the side of the walk way to hold the rupees they earned. They placed it in front of Link, who sat on a stump that had recently lost its life due to the construction and expansion Kakariko was enduring. Zelda lounged on the ground next to him, thanking every passerby who gave a couple spare green rupees, without fail.

Link was a little annoyed with the small amount people had been giving him. He _had _been doing pretty well, even if he could only play about four songs. Some of the villagers who gave were so cheap they only could spare one rupee. _And_ freaking Zelda acted all happy about it either way, and gave them smiles regardless, and then they would say 'aw what cute kids' as Link planned their respective demises.

After about an hour of Link getting frustrated, partly because his playing wasn't completely perfect and he didn't want people to hear it unless it was, and partly because the jerks hardly gave him anything for his efforts, they had earned about enough for six games.

"This is awesome!" Zelda exclaimed, digging through their pot of green, and the occasional blue rupee. "Look how much money you made Link! And you didn't even have to steal any of it."

"Yeah, yeah," Link groaned. He could have gotten that exact same amount in a third of the time if he has just taken it. He really didn't see a difference.

"Whoa! Wait a minute, is this a _red rupee_?" Zelda furrowed her brow as she picked up the gleaming gem, "I didn't see anyone give us a red rupee?"

"Weird," Link looked upwards at the sky, "maybe it happened that time you left to go to the bathroom," he suggested.

"I guess," she muttered and dug through the pot a little more suspiciously. She seemed to find something that made her mouth drop, ripping it out of the container to get a better look.

"Another one?!" She said with disbelief. Link winced, and continued to stare at the sky.

". . . Weird," he repeated, crossing his hands behind his back.

"Link!" Zelda turned to glare at the boy vehemently. He couldn't keep himself from giving a tiny smile.

"I couldn't help myself," he explained with a shoulder shrug. Zelda just continued to glare daggers into his unapologetic disposition. It might have been a better idea to take eight blue rupees, but hey, no one is perfect.

"You promised," Zelda groaned, throwing the more expensive rupees back into the pot and out of her hand like they were burning.

"I tried!" Link defended, finally looking down at the seated girl, "besides, now we get to have ten games instead of six," he pointed out, his grin clearly starting to irritate the blonde girl.

"I hate you," she said plainly, standing and hoisting the pot up with her. Link simply laughed, his bad mood lifted quickly as usual.

His slightly evil giggles continued as they made the short walk over to the shooting gallery, with Zelda trying to give him the silent treatment. He could tell she wasn't really that mad. They'd only known each other a week, but she got fake mad at him all the time, so he had to learn how to tell the difference fast.

As they began to walk up the few stone steps that lead to the humble brick building, Zelda hesitated. Link didn't notice her put the pot down and reach out to stop said friend from going inside.

"Wait," she began as she grabbed on to the back of his shirt to stop him. Quirking his brow, Link turned to face her and she released him.

"What is it?" He asked, noting that she had put the pot of rupees down.

"How do you do the slingshot?" She questioned, tilting her head. Link smiled at her.

"You picked this game, and you don't even know how to fire a slingshot?" Link commented as the girl kicked the ground awkwardly, "you really are stupid," he said, amused.

"Shut up!" She lightly hit his shoulder as she spoke. Link thought back to a little earlier in the day when Zelda got all weird and ran away. This presented a great opportunity to bring it back up. But, what had they talking about that made her run away in the first place?

"I'll just show you," Link decided after a moment of letting her steam. He'd decided he would ask her later.

Link dug through the pouch on his belt, shifting through his stuffed bag before grasping hold of the familiar wood-wrapped-in-cloth grip. Tied loosely to the handle was a tiny bag of deku seeds, which he removed, and placed to the side before handing Zelda the slingshot. The girl looked over the weapon in awe, which she seemed to do with a lot of Link's stuff, and tugged on the stretchy band at the top.

"You're already a natural!" Link commented, gesturing to her band tugging.

"That's really all you do?" Zelda inquired as she tried to tug the band more professionally

"Yeah. . . but no," Link frowned at her pathetic form as he took the slingshot back from her without warning, "you've gotta hold it like this, and pull back on the leather part here," Link held the shot in his right hand, using his dominant to pull back on the band as far as it would go while gripping the leather ammo-holder by its edges.

Zelda nodded, accepting the slingshot when he held it out to her. Coping him as exactly as possible, she held the handle in her right hand and pulled with her left, feeling rather uncomfortable about the positioning.

"Is this good?" She asked, slightly confused as it did not feel correct.

"Not even close," Link said with a sigh, "not even close at all."

"What do you mean?!" Zelda demanded, flabbergasted.

"First off, you gotta use two fingers to pull the leather, and you can't touch the inside 'cause it slows it down," Link began as Zelda regressed back to inspecting the slingshot.

"Well, what fingers do I use then?" She questioned.

"Your thumb and your," he held up his index finger and stared at it a for a moment before shooting the girl a grin, "nose picker."

"EW!" She shouted, dropping the slingshot.

"Calm down, I was kidding!" Link said between laughs as he bent down to retrieve his toy-weapon-thing.

"I'm _not_ touching any of your things! That's repulsive," Zelda crossed her arms over her chest and looked away.

"Oh come on," Link rolled his eyes, "quit being such a princess and take the thing in your left hand," he demanded, annoyed that he had no idea what 'repulsive' meant, and therefore couldn't conceive a proper comeback.

Zelda whipped around to stare at the boy. He was fully expecting to have to do some insincere apologizing, or more unnecessary fighting, but to his surprise she just reached out and yanked the slingshot back from him.

"You used your other hand," she mentioned as she tried it the way Link instructed her.

"Yeah, but you don't do it my way," he said boredly.

"Well, why not?" She demanded, switching hands back and forth stubbornly.

"Zel, I'm trying to help you," Link pointed out, and then in order to prove himself, added, "which hand do you write with?"

"This one," she held up her right hand to show him.

"Then use _that _one," Link pointed at her left, which was loosely holding the weapon. Zelda sighed, but finally did as she was told. She used her index and thumb to pull on the sides of the leather holder, and brought the band back as far as it would go. It looked like she was having a much easier time having switched hands.

"Now am I good?" Zelda asked.

"Good enough," Link shrugged, then handed her a deku seed. The girl placed her ammunition in the leather holder, taking aim at a lone tree in the center of town a little ways away from the two. Closing one eye and sticking her tongue out in concentration, she fired.

The deku seed flew out of its holder at a dangerous speed, whirling straight through the open air, nowhere near the tree, and hitting the edge of someone's home with a loud _thump._

"Oops," Zelda murmured, then looked over at Link with guilt in her eyes. He sighed very loudly, then walked up next to her.

"Two things this time," he began, lifting her arm up to hold the slingshot further away from her. Zelda immediately dropped the noodle-like arm when he let go, so he again picked it up, and moved it in front of her until she supported it with her own muscle. "You have to keep _both_ eyes open, and you have to pull the string straight out, you can't turn it. Use between the handles to aim," with that, Link loaded another deku seed and pulled back on the string, moving Zelda's arm again so it was facing the tree. Then, he released hold of both things and sent seed catapulting into its target. A man standing by the tree jumped in surprise at the noise it made as the seed broke against the bark.

"Wow!" Zelda said excitedly, shifting her gaze between Link and the slingshot as she continued, "can I try again?"

"How about we just go in now?" He questioned, not really up to having to show her how to fire six more times. Zelda shrugged, but obliged anyways, jogging over to their pot of rupees before joining Link at the top of the stairs. Smiling, the two children entered the shooting gallery.

The building wasn't very big, but it was fairly long. It was all dark wood interior, with a singular desk seating a large, bulky man, who appeared to be a little bored. There was a plethora of animal plushies behind him and hooked to the wall, along with some cheaply made hats and gloves. All the way at the other end of the room, several targets rested in strange positions, attached to mechanical fixtures that Link assumed meant they moved.

Link walked up to the counter after digging his hand into the pot of rupees and picking up one blue, and five green. He plopped his handful in front of the man.

"One game please," Link requested with a smile.

"Weapon of choice?" The man asked. Link showed him the slingshot he had been carrying, which made the man nod approvingly, "yeah that's legal. Alright, you have sixty seconds to shoot all the targets. If you do you get a big prize, if you shoot half you get a small prize, if you shoot less, you get zip. Any questions?"

"Nope," Link shook his head, then accepted the rubber ammunition the man handed him for his game. He walked over to the pedestal that the player is supposed to shoot from, and turned to face Zelda, "watch this," he said, grinning, then faced forward again.

"Okay," she smiled. She would be able to see how to shoot better if she studied him, so Link was really just looking out for her.

"Are you watching?" He asked as the man went to go set the timer, but didn't turn around.

"Mmhm," she confirmed. Link looked over his shoulder at her anyways, grinned again, and got into ready position.

As soon as the timer dinged, Link was ready. The targets were slapped down by the rubber ammunition quickly, even the ones that spun and slid were no match for Link's concentration. He reloaded with impressive reflexes, it hardly took any time at all. When it was all over, it had only been about 45 seconds rather than the full 60. The man running the business whistled in appreciation as Link lowered his weapon.

"Wow kid," he began, nodding to Link, "I don't think I've ever seen someone so young shoot so good. You get your pick of the prizes," he said, gesturing behind him at the wall.

Link strolled up to the counter and inspected his plentiful options. Quite a bit looked good, but he knew what to get as soon as he saw it.

"That one please," he requested while pointing to the plushie he desired. The man said nothing as he unhooked the item from its hanger and handed it to Link.

He had picked a life-sized, stuffed, toy cucco.

He spun on his heel to proudly show Zelda his selection. She clapped in appreciation.

"It's so cute!" She exclaimed, giving him a sweet smile.

"Glad you think so," Link held out the plushie for her to take, "it's yours!"

Zelda's eyes widened as the man behind the counter snorted at the display, "really?!" She asked, exasperated as she gently took the poorly made stuffed animal like it was made of gold.

"Yeah! Now _you_ have to win _me_ something," Link said as she held the plushie to her face in order to get a better look. She then made a determined face.

"Right!" She agreed, taking out ten rupees from the pot.

* * *

Ninety rupees deep and eight games later, Zelda had managed to hit about a maximum of three targets a game. Even this was possibly on accident, and the girl seemed to be getting frustrated. She was down to their last ten rupees, and Link had been cheering her on the whole time.

"You got this Zel!" He shouted unnecessarily as the angered girl took aim for the last time. She only needed to hit five targets to win something, and Link had a feeling she would beat herself up if she didn't. Despite the fact that she'd never even picked up a slingshot until that morning.

The girl didn't respond to his encouragement, she simply waited for the ding of the timer, and started firing as best she could. The still targets had become sort of easy for her, they were usually the only ones she hit, but early on she had also hit the target that slowly drifted straight across! She'd hit four and only needed one more to get something!

Link hooted in excitement as the shop owner regarded the boy with annoyance.

"Both eyes open!" He suggested when Zelda entered her last ten seconds. The girl quickly snapped open her lid, and scrunched her forehead in concentration. The only targets left were moving very quickly, or spinning in and out of view. If Zelda was going to hit one, she really needed to concentrate.

Hardening her gaze, she fired her final ball of ammunition at the slowest moving target there. By some divine luck, the ball hit the top edge of the target and sent it downwards, making her total five before the buzzer went off.

The two children immediately howled in excitement as the shopkeeper rolled his eyes.

"Did you see me Link? Did you see?" Zelda questioned, practically bouncing up and down as she handed him the weapon.

"You bet I did!" He congratulated her with a shoulder pat, before turning her around to face the counter, "now go pick me out something pretty!"

"Okay!" Zelda agreed as she practically skipped up to the vendor. He had already gone inside of his counter to pull out a bucket containing lowly prizes, such as paper bracelets and small wooden trinkets.

"These are the half and over prizes," the shopkeeper told her. Yet, Zelda didn't have her sights set on any of those.

"Oh! Mister, is that one a half hit prize?" Zelda questioned as she pointed to something Link couldn't see.

"No," he drawled, "if it's on the wall, it's a prize for hitting _everything_. You pick from these," he pushed the box toward her.

"Oh," Zelda looked down, slightly depressed. Her big eyes widened as her lower lip jutted out at the man's words, "I tried so hard too," she mentioned with a sniffle, and started to sway back and forth slightly.

"Er," the man didn't really know how to react to the little girl as she appeared more and more saddened.

"It wasn't even _for _me," she rubbed her eye a little, "I tried for my friend and I still failed," Zelda began to blink quickly, as if holding back tears.

"N-now now," the man comforted awkwardly, "you did fine, you still get a prize!" He pointed out with an awkward smile.

"Yes," she looked down and glanced at the man through her long eyelashes, "but not _that_ prize," she looked over at the wall, and Link could only imagine that her eyes were watering.

"O-oh you meant this!" The man called as he began to unhook something that Link couldn't see, "I thought you meant the gloves! No, no you did well enough for this," he handed her the prize quickly, attempting to keep the girl from sobbing.

Zelda instantly lit up, grasping the man's large hand with both of hers and she gave him a painfully cute smile, "really?! Thank you so much, sir!"

"Uh, yeah," the man's face turned a light shade of pink.

Link stared at the exchange with his mouth agape. That guy had to be kidding.

Zelda said nothing else to him as she pulled the green cloth off of the counter and ran over to Link, who really didn't know how to feel about the situation.

And Zelda got mad at _him _for stealing. She was just as bad!

"Let's go Link, it's getting late," she pointed out as she grabbed his wrist while his other hand held the now emptied pot, and did not give him her prize. Link gave her an angry look, but let her pull him out the door anyways.

"Bye mister!" Zelda called charmingly.

"Uh, yup. Bye," the man responded, scratching his head as if trying to figure out what just happened. As the door shut behind the pair and they descended the small amount of stairs, Link yanked his hand away from her.

"You little cheat!" He commented, slight apprehension in his tone.

"What ever do you mean?" She asked innocently.

"What are you, a witch?" He accused, which made her purse her lips, "you would make such a good thief Zel!"

"Shut up," she growled, then shoved the dark green item at the boy. Link excitedly unfolded it, only to become a little confused at what he saw. It was triangular and long, sewn with cheap fabric tightly at the top, and extended into a cone shape at the bottom. It was hollow inside, and floppy as there was nothing to support the cloth. He quirked a brow.

"What is it?" He wondered allowed, clearly sounding unappreciative to Zelda's ears.

"It's a hat," she told him, rolling her eyes, "remember? We needed one to put the rupees in, but we had to settle for that pot?" She recalled, then all of her anger seemed to slowly melt away as she added, "I thought you could use it if you ever want to make more money with your ocarina."

"Well, I have a leather wallet," Link told her, but then he plopped it on his head and gave a goofy grin when Zelda blurted out with laughter.

"You look like a dork!" She told him snickering.

"And you look like a dog but I don't _tell_ you," Link countered playfully, which made her push his shoulder as they started to walk again. He didn't remove the hat.

It was getting rather late, the sun was essentially gone, but there was still enough light to see. A scarce few people were heading home from work, putting their horses in their stables and the remaining few shops were closing up as some of the bars began to open. Dusk had hit the hills of Kakariko.

This was the last full day Link would have with Zelda. He was leaving tomorrow morning and had yet to tell the girl. He was _also _told to be back early today in order to get ready, but obviously, he didn't follow through. He planning to walk Zelda back to her place; she had told him that 'Impa' wished to formally meet him, so he was going to be even more late getting back to his lodgings.

Yet, this formal goodbye was not meant to be.

"Link?" A voice called, clearly woman, though not exactly feminine, "Link is that you?"

The boy and the girl both stopped walking as Link turned around to face the figure clothed in black calling his name. He winced at her tone, he was going to be in trouble.

"Aveil," Link greeted, giving her an innocent smile, "how've you been?"

"Save it," Aveil sighed as she approached them, "I didn't expect you to come back of your own free will anyways," she crossed her arms at him, but then turned her attention to Zelda and said with a much softer tone, "is this the new friend I've heard so much about?"

Aveil was a tall, thin woman. However, she was slightly less muscular than the rest of their sisters, and shorter than most of them as well. She didn't really prefer to fight, but she was one of the best tactical minds they had. Since they were in Kakariko, and it was dangerous for her to be seen in public, she wore a long black cloak which covered her completely, and pants and a shirt similar to Link's. As she approached them, she pulled down her hood to reveal a sharply featured, but attractive, tanned face, golden eyes, and dark red hair which seemed even darker due to the lack of light. She wore a silver band necklace, and large gold blocks for earrings, less extravagant than usual.

"Pleasure to meet you ma'am," Zelda said politely with a small curtsy, "I'm Zelda. Are you Link's sister?"

There was an uncomfortable pause.

Aveil's face strangely displayed about for different emotions in the span of one second, before settling on a completely stoic expression. Her eyes suddenly became hard, and Link regarded her with slight confusion as even _he _didn't really know what just happened.

"Zelda?" She echoed, ignoring the little girls question, "Link told me your name was Zel," she revealed to the two with a quiet tone, as if that was the reason for her strange reaction.

"Did I?" Link furrowed his brow. It was entirely possible, but he didn't think it was that big of a deal. Certainly not as much as Aveil was acting. The woman cleared her throat, seeming to try to plan her next words.

"Tell me, Zelda," Aveil began, her attention fully directed toward Zelda as she didn't even find Link's response worthy of addressing, "how old are you?"

"I'm ten," Zelda replied, blinking her large blue eyes up at the woman, and offering a small smile.

"Ten? Like Link?" Her voice was cold and monotone, influxing only for the question.

"Yeah, yeah, we're both ten," Link grumbled sarcastically. He wasn't comfortable with Aveil's weird behavior. She seemed like she was coming up with an idea. Link hated her ideas. To Zelda however, the woman appeared none too out of the ordinary.

"When's your birthday?" Aveil pressed, disregarding Link once more.

"Uh," Zelda seemed to wonder why the woman wished to know, she continued regardless, "February 21st."

Links eyes widened. That was his birthday!

Aveil then did something rather unexpected. She smiled at the girl. Zelda smiled back at her pleasantly, clasping her hands together behind her back. Aveil scratched the back of her neck as she seemed to relax a little, her happiness looking more sincere as more seconds passed. It took Link only a moment to panic.

"Sorry for the questions, Princess," Aveil purred. Zelda shook her head in the negative, as if saying that the woman shouldn't apologize, but then gasped in surprise as the weight of what she heard kicked in.

"Zelda!" Link shouted in a warning, but it was too late. As he yelled, he was pushed aside roughly by Aveil's powerful leg. A swift _shing _of metal followed his cry as Aveil grabbed for the hilt of her sword behind her back, hardly poking out of her cloak. She removed her deadly scimitar with tremendous speed, bringing it in a downwards slice, directly onto the sweet little girl before she'd even had the chance to scream.

Link didn't want to look away, but he couldn't help it as he himself bit his tongue in order to stop his own shout. He braced himself for the sickening sound of bone snapping against metal, and the horrid noises that insides made when removed from their host.

A strikingly familiar sound graced his terrified ears.

The clang of metal against metal chimed through the nearly empty town, and the scrapes of pressure against pressure continued as Link slowly began opening his eyes once more, curious to know what happened.

Crouching between Zelda and Aveil, weapons out and in direct contact with Aveil's sword, was a man. He wore a tight black suit, bandaged with white, scarce silver armor covering his most vital regions. His face had white and red face paint, forming a strange eye that appeared to be crying a singular tear. His expression was hard and his dark eyes were cold as he glared at Aveil.

"Gerudo scum!" He shouted, pushing outwards with his double weapons, a pair of sai, and disengaging Aveil's sword from his own.

"Royal family serving _dog_," she spat back, blocking the mans slashes with tactical grace, and maneuvering her body out of harms way with side steps and ducks.

The man stopped attacking when he realized Aveil wasn't doing any offensive movements what-so-ever. He stood up straight, and pointed one of his sai directly at her.

"Release the boy at once," he demanded in an angry, deep tone.

"Release the-?" Aveil repeated, before trailing off and smirking deviously at the lean man. Link hadn't realized it himself, but when Aveil had kicked him out of the way, he'd ended up thrown a little behind her. This man thought she was aiming to kill both the children.

"My, well this is awkward," Aveil finally said, sticking her sword in the ground and leaning on it's hilt. The movement was risky, but showed the strangely dressed man that what she was about to say was true, and that she had nothing to hide.

"What are you doing?" The man said, anger prevalent though he didn't raise his voice. It only made him that much more creepy, "do you _want_ to die?" He hissed before repeating his demand, "hand over the boy!"

"Sorry to disappoint you," Aveil kicked one leg around the other in a more casual position, "but the boy never _belonged_ to you."

"What are you talking about?" his chilling tone radiated over Link like a gust of wind, "that is _clearly_ a Hylian child. If you want to live you will send him over unharmed," the man waved his weapon violently as he spoke, showing that he meant business.

"Oh I'll send him over," Aveil's smile faded as her position became less comfortable. Link stared at the woman with bewilderment, a look that wasn't missed by the man dressed in ninja garb, "but if I do, know that I send over The Gerudo's future king. Know that if you take him to your bastard leach of a ruler, this little boy," she rubbed his blonde head as she, in turn, brought him closer to her protectively, "will be killed," her eyes narrowed and through clenched teeth she managed, "and know that the Gerudo _will_ declare war on Hyrule," Aveil's face suddenly softened, and she leaned away from the ninja in a less threatening pose, "but of course, it's your call," she said in a sing song voice.

For the first time, the man's face betrayed him as it relieved his, no doubt immense, anger. His grip tightened in his sai weapons while he slowly brought his arms to his side as he struggled to make a decision. Link inched closer to Aveil, in hopes that she wouldn't really send him away with the man. The movement of the little boy seemed to make the man finalize his decision.

"If you don't get the hell out of Hyrule _immediately_," he hissed through clenched teeth, "I'll kill you _and _your Prince of Filth without a moments hesitation," he threatened, making a horizontal slicing motion across with his weapon.

"How kind of you, good Sheikah," Aveil said sarcastically, then flicked her gaze to Zelda, who was clutching the muscular leg of the man who saved her so tightly that her knuckles were white, "and you sweet princess," she bowed as she spoke, pulling her scimitar out of the dirt in the same movement. Her eyes bore deeply into Zelda's as she bowed, never once faltering. This was a Gerudo sign of disrespect.

"Now!" the Sheikah demanded, picking his weapons up threateningly once more.

Aveil said nothing more, she simply grabbed rough hold of the back of Link's shirt, and yanked him along in the opposite direction. Zelda stared after him as he melded into the darkness, and he stared back at her.

Link refused the break their gaze until both the Princess and her guard disappeared from his vision.

* * *

**Aveil isn't an OC guys! She's the lady who gives you your official Gerudo membership in Oot Gerudo fortress! She also might be in Majora's Mask idk I haven't finished that game yet.**

**Please feel free to review, favorite, or follow, and I look forward to hearing from you (:**


	4. Chapter 3

**A/N Hello again, and welcome to Hero of Thieves, chapter three! ****I think this one is my favorite so far.**

**A couple things before you begin. First off I would like to give a shout out to Stargirl98 for her kind and helpful reviews! I couldn't reply to you since you were anon, but I really really appreciate your opinion, and everyone else's. You made me excited to get this next chapter out, so thank you!**

**Second, you'll all be happy to know that the Gerudo are actually _involved_ in this one, so that should be good.**

**Also, I don't know if you remember that thing from middle school where everyone had this 'pirate vs. ninja' thing going on? Or was that just my school? Either way, I always think of that with the Gerudo and the Sheikah, so I just always picture their race not getting along. I don't know if other fanfictions do that. . . I think I saw a couple that did. Either way, I hope it's not that weird!**

**And finally, I do not own LoZ**

* * *

The Sheikhan Guard and the Young Princess wasted no time in returning to Hyrule Castle after what had transpired. Zelda was scheduled to remain in Kakariko for another five days, though once the village was thought to be compromised, she was ushered into a hasty departure under the cover of night, and the protection of about six armed guards.

The poor little girl seemed to be in a state of comatose.

Hyrule Castle was a short trip from Kakariko, a mere few hours on horseback. For that reason, the Princess arrived safely back at said castle with no more complications. She had attempted to sleep through the carriage ride, though was unable to due to untamable thoughts and nerves. She had almost died that night. She had almost died that night, and the only real friend she'd ever had, had tried to kill her.

Zelda clenched her small, soft fist in determination.

_No_, she thought to herself during her long, lonely carriage ride, _it wasn't Link. I must give him the benefit of the doubt._

Even the Princess' own thoughts felt hollow.

The familiar Castletown drawbridge that raised every sunset without fail, was temporarily lowered as word had been sent ahead of the princess' late-night arrival. The horses that pulled Zelda's cart along walked steadily onto the bride and into the cobblestone path of the town, snug between a box of Sheikhan horses. Due to Castletown's rather strict curfew, the princess' carriage underwent a smooth ride all the way to the castle, without any disturbances from civilians. The princess had managed a successful voyage back to her home, in only one night.

A shell-shocked Zelda was lead out of her temporary lodgings-on-wheels, by a very familiar, very relieved face. Zelda managed to give her concerned nursemaid a comforting smile, while Impa simply took the girl into a reassuring hug.

"Oh thank the goddesses," Impa breathed, holding the little girl close to her as she spoke. Finding it rather difficult to breath in the tight hold of her muscular guardian, Zelda attempted to push away.

"I'm really alright," the young princess managed, looking into the eyes of the Sheikhan with an earnest expression, "you can all stop worrying now,"

Impa gave a familiar half smile, "I never stop worrying," she commented, hosting the girl up into the air so that she was resting on one of Impa's strong arms as the woman began walking toward the castle's entrance. Zelda wrapped her arms around Impa's neck in an attempt to steady herself.

The pair walked through the grand doors of the castle lobby, trailed closely by the other Sheikahs who had escorted Zelda back to her home. The princess felt a strange wave of fatigue once she finally entered the castle doors, the polar opposite of how she had been feeling her entire ride in.

Maybe the shock was finally wearing off.

Impa had carried her charge all the way to Zelda's chambers when she finally turned to her loyal Shiekhans and made a motion of dismissal. The uniformed ninjas bowed respectfully, before turning to depart in an orderly line. However, Impa held her hand out to halt the final member of Zelda's escort.

The young man blinked in confusion at Impa's touch, though nodded to his superior in understanding after they shared a look that Zelda didn't quite understand. Without words, the three opened Zelda's chambers, and quietly slid inside with Impa locking the door behind them.

Zelda had been set down by that point, as she took refuge in one of her red cushioned love seats that was placed in front of a lone, large, crystallized window pane; its velvety red curtains shut for the night. She knew it was in bad manners to immediately flop down onto her bed. She would have to be patient as she took part in whatever conversation Impa wished to have with the two of them.

The Sheikhan man who Impa had requested come into Zelda's room was the same man who had saved her only a few hours before. He had been tasked with trailing the princess for the day, as Impa wasn't comfortable leaving Zelda completely alone with a stranger. Though, she also wasn't cruel enough to keep the girl from her new friend. It was the compromise reached between the two after Zelda had ran away from her guard on the first day they had been stationed in Kakariko.

Even though Zelda had disliked the idea, she hadn't protested too strongly. Now however, she knew enough to be greatly appreciative of Impa's paranoia.

"Sir Zunari," Zelda began, turning her attention to the Shiekan man who had saved her life, "I wish to formally thank you," she finished with the most sincere smile she could manage at the moment. Directly after the near-death event that had transpired, Zelda couldn't think, let alone from a proper thanks. She felt it was a necessary formality now, however.

"Please don't thank me Princess," Zunari shook his head, leaning on the column of her bed as he spoke, "protecting you is as natural as breathing. I deserve no recognition."

Zelda did not like that response, "surely that is not true," she disagreed. Her speech was much more formal than it had been previously with Link. She assumed it may have just been a side effect of being inside the castle, "you saved my _life_, that's not the same as escorting me on a morning ride Sir Zunari,"

The man shook his head, opening his mouth to defend his humble stance, though was cut off by the hushed tone of Impa.

"Do not speak of such things in the castle," she reprimanded, fixing the two confused juniors with a glare, "we have to get our stories straight before morning."

"Lady Impa?" Zunari said with a questioning tone, "what do you mean by 'our stories'?"

"Did you tell anyone what happened to the Princess besides myself?" Impa pressed, ignoring his question.

"I've told no one else anything . . . in detail," he began after a moments pause, "just the other Sheikah that her safety was compromised in Kakariko."

Impa let out a sigh of relief, "good. We wouldn't want this matter spiraling out of control, now would we?"

Zelda immediately knew to what Impa was referring. Fixing her eyes on the cherry wood floors, covered with a woven wool rug, Zelda surmised, "you mean with my father," her inquiring tone made the two Sheikah look at her blankly, "you don't want this spiraling out of control _with my father_."

Impa nodded, "we can't tell him what happened."

The mere mention of this seemed to enrage Zunari, "lying to the King of Hyrule?! That's blasphemy!" He pointed out in a whisper yell, standing up straight and out of his casual position, "you can't _seriously_ expect me, a loyal Sheikah, to _lie_ to the head of the royal family, do you?!"

"Calm down already," Impa hissed, "Sheikah are sworn to _protect_ the royal family, and sometimes you lie to protect the ones you love, correct?" The woman comforted, slowly placing a hand on the panicking man's shoulder in an effort to calm him, "like when you tell a small child that their beloved dog ran away, rather than telling him that it got trampled by a horse. Lie to protect."

"The king isn't a _child_," Zunari countered, eying the woman with a slight amount of distrust.

"No, but he's rash like one," Impa pointed out, removing her hand from his shoulder as he was unable to respond to her.

"Especially when it comes to Gerudo," Zelda added, her eyes still transfixed on her floorboards, "if he knew of this event, there's nothing in the world that would stop him from starting an all out war."

"That's not what you want Princess?" Zunari asked, his inquiring a little out of place. Impa did not scold him on it however, she simply looked to Zelda in curiosity at her response, "the only Gerudo you've ever met just tried to kill you."

The young girl flinched, finally looking up to meet their probing eyes, "of course that's not what I want," she breathed, a little scandalized at the implications of his words, "this contained action is _not_ the responsibility of a whole race!"

"Exactly," Impa agreed, nodding at the Princess approvingly as she crossed her arms over her chest, "which is why we should tell something _else_ to the King."

"We brought the Princess home early because of a safety issue," Zunari pointed out, "we'll be lucky if his brain hasn't already leaped to this conclusion," the man mentioned bitterly, clearly still not sitting right with the idea of lying to his king.

"But lucky for us, nothing actually _happened_ to Zelda physically," the princess found it a little funny that Impa felt the need to add the world 'physically,' as if Zelda was a glass doll, covered in cracks of emotional scarring, "so nothing happening is our story."

"What do you mean?" Zunari asked with a furrowed brow.

"We say that there were reasonable amounts of _rumors_ of Gerudo presence in Kakariko," Impa explained, "That way, even King Daphnes won't be so quick to war, and guard will still be increased to deal with a problem that you and I both know is prevalent."

"But sending her home in the middle of the night?" Zunari shook his head, "and only for a couple of rumors? It doesn't add up."

"Zelda snuck out at night," Impa improvised quickly, "the immediate transportation was both an issue of safety, and discipline."

"What!?" Zelda exclaimed, then slumped undignifiedly into her chair as she knew there was no backing out of it, "so I get in _trouble_ now?" She murmured with a defeated tone.

"Well you _did_ run away a few times, if I recall," Impa pointed out to the pouting girl, who only sighed and did not fight the matter any further.

"So I didn't see any Gerudo personally," Zunari repeated for clarification, still not sounding pleased, "I only found Zelda out at night, and that, coupled with the Gerudo _rumors_, is why we sent her home?"

"Exactly," Impa gave the man a soft, half smile, "by doing this, realize you've had a very large part in keeping balance in Hyrule. May the goddesses bless your cooperation."

"I know," Zunari muttered, staring off at nothing in particular as he spoke.

"You may be excused now, young Sheikhan. You did exceptionally well tonight," Impa walked over to Zelda's door to temporarily unlock it, "you have my highest praise,"

"And mine!" Zelda chipped in helpfully. Zunari said nothing else, he simply bowed to Impa and the Princess like the other Sheikah Guards did when dismissed, and exited the room.

The remaining woman closed the door behind him rather than following, leaving her hand to loiter on the knob indecisively, as if waiting for instructions. Zelda clearly recognized this action, as after a few silent seconds had passed, the princess spoke in a slightly quivering voice.

"He," she swallowed a lump in her throat, "he . . . was my friend," she murmured, curling into her seat informally, as if holding herself. The words were all Impa needed to lock the Princess' door once more, before walking over to where the young girl lay defeated in her chair, and wrapping her arms around the child's shoulders comfortingly.

"I'm sorry Zelda, but I don't think that he-" was all the Sheikhan could offer as the little girl burrowed her head into the warmth of the woman's shoulder. Impa was a little uncomfortable to hug due to her standard metal armor and hard body, though Zelda wasn't about to get picky.

"I don't understand what I _did_," Zelda managed, her eyes beginning to brim with tears as her small fingers dug into her nursemaid's back, "I know the Gerudo hate my father, but _me_?"

"Hatred only breeds more hatred," Impa answered as she allowed the young girl to cry into her clothing, "the misconceptions of a certain people spread, and spiraled. Your father did not handle the Gerudo well after the war ended, and because of that, Ganondorf's followers only merged with Daphnes' enemies," Impa let out a sigh before continuing, "that boy was never your friend."

"But _I'm_ not my father," Zelda whined, as if convincing the Gerudo themselves, trying desperately to ignore that last part of what Impa had just said, "I had nothing to _do_ with his decision to exile them! It's not my fault!"

"No my dear," Impa agreed, patting her soft blonde head as she spoke, "but you _are_ a Nohansen, and that's good enough for them."

* * *

The pair of dejected Gerudo departed from Kakariko as soon as conveniently possible. Directly after the incident, they silently made their way to the back alley where their humble, temporary lodgings were located. Every month they came, they stayed in the attic of an unpopular potions shop ran by a singular elderly woman. She had told them that her grandmother was a member of the Gerudo, and because of that, she'd always felt a loyalty toward the clan. However, she wouldn't stand for any attention her guests brought as she wasn't looking to be imprisoned. Due to this, it was unlikely that she would be allowing them to stay in her shop again.

Without speaking a word to one another, the two rolled all of their supplies into blankets and baskets, tied with rope and twine. Aveil had already done most of the packing, so this activity didn't take too long, as they really only had to tie everything together.

Once they had completed this brief job, Link used the moment to take one last look at the damp, triangular shaped attic. Wooden support beams lined the middle, and it was cluttered with boxes of dried herbs, jelly, and other supplies used for potion making. To the side, there were two surprisingly comfortable mattresses made tightly with red, wool blankets, and a pale of room-temperature water that the lady allowing them to stay always made sure was fresh.

The slamming of the attic door made Link start slightly, tearing him away from the surprisingly comfortable sight. He sighed when he realized that Aveil had just left with her half of the supplies. With a huff, Link grabbed his bunch of items which were now all knit together tightly, and threw it over his shoulder.

Primarily, the Gerudo bartered for supplies using stolen gold and jewels they had acquired during raids. The majority of what they brought home was jugs of water, and red potions made by the woman who let them stay. They also brought back blacksmith supplies, like hammers and tongs, as they preferred to make their own swords, spears, and other weapons. Though pre-made shields were occasionally useful, they always bought metals and coal. Every month when they would return, the Gerudo would dine on fresh crops that couldn't be grown in the harsh desert, like pumpkin, berries, and corn. Usually, all they had to eat was sheep that they herded secretly only a little ways away from the fortress, whatever other game they could find, watermelon (rarely), and leevers.

Link always hated leevers.

He pulled the string on the lift-able door upwards, the hinges creaking open as they always did. Descending the ladder was difficult with the extra thirty pounds weighing him down, though he managed it with only mild complications. He made it to ground floor just in time to see Aveil thanking the woman for letting them stay, and warning her about a guard that may or may not have seen her.

The old woman expectedly started to go off on Aveil, and Link took this as his opportunity to sneak out of the shop.

The horses were tied up in a community stable, being taken care of for the week for only 20 rupees a horse. The great, black Arabians towered over most of the regular riding horses, they were only a little smaller than the draft horses. Link hobbled his way over to these stables located at the front of the town, the stable boy clearly asleep somewhere at this time in the night. When the horses caught sight of the familiar figure, they began to neigh in anticipation. What could he say, animals loved him.

"Hey guys," Link whispered, touching their snouts in hopes that they would stop whinnying, "we're gonna be leaving a little earlier than we thought, alright?"

As if understanding, the horses stopped excitedly prancing, and their movements changed to only slight sways. Link saddled the slightly smaller female with a new leather saddle that they'd bought, tying his bunch of supplies off his shoulder and onto her with a thick wad of rope.

Aveil came in right when Link had finished, and as she began to work on her horse, Link set out on a miniature quest to find a stool to step on in order to mount the large animal.

By the time he'd found a step-up big enough, Aveil was already done and waiting impatiently just outside of the stable. With mild difficulty, Link scrambled to the top of his horse, and gently kicked it forward into a walk as they joined the loitering Aveil. Link opened his mouth to say something to the woman, but she whipped her horse around and started toward the exit of the village before he could get a word out. With a groan, Link followed her.

The guard of Kakariko's entrance was priorly paid off, so he said nothing as the two Gerudo road their impressive horses out to Hyrule field. He did look a little concerned about the hour of which they were leaving, but didn't address it as he simply opened the small metal gate, allowing the pair to wander into the vast openness of said field.

When they were a decent while away from the town, Hyrule castle looming in the distance, illuminated under the moonlight. Link finally braved speaking.

"Aveil-" he started, but was unable to continue as the woman clicked the back of her tongue twice, snapping her legs quickly in order to send her horse into a canter. Dust rose at the horses sudden fast movement, puffing it's way over to Link in a cloud. The little boy sighed exasperatedly, kicking his own horse ahead to match the others pace. Every time he got too close however, she would lean forward and gallop on even faster.

What was Aveil mad at him about? She was the one who almost sliced his friend in half! How was Link supposed to know that that girl was the princess?

Convincing himself that _he_ should be the one to be mad, Link no longer tried to start conversation with the woman as they rode on in an uncomfortable silence for hours upon hours. Eventually, after a long while of cantering, their horses grew tired so they slowed them back to a walk. After all, it was too dangerous to stop completely with the prevalent possibility of being followed. Usually, the trip would take over a half a day, as they would stop to catch a breif rest and get something to eat. Instead, they rode on all night without breaking, making the entire trip last only about eight hours.

Finally, an exhausted Link recognized the small rock fencing that was used to keep their sheep in a generalized area. That meant they were little more than a mile out. The horses were clearly not up to continuing much further, so it was lucky for them as well.

"We're probably going to go to war," Aveil's sudden voice spooked Link slightly in the eeriness of early morning, "best case scenario, we never go back to Kakariko again. Never mind Castletown or anything in between," her voice was cold and unforgiving, which only made Link feel slightly enraged.

"Why are you acting like it's _my_ fault?" Link demanded, still having enough energy in him to argue, as always.

"Because it _is_ your fault!" Aveil hissed, finally turning to look at him. Her horse started uncomfortable at her tone, but calmed back down quickly.

"How was I supposed to know that was the princess?!" Link shouted back angrily, "excuse me for not trying to kill every Zelda I meet!"

"You should always react at least _suspiciously_ to every Zelda! Use your brain Link," Aveil told him, glaring at the boy in the pale moonlight. It was starting to get a little lighter in the sky, but not by much as everything was still a hazy grey, "she was your age, near the castle, and was drawn to _you_ of all people! She has a triforce piece, if you don't remember."

"Of course I remember!" Link was getting very defensive, "and she wasn't near the castle! Kakariko isn't Castletown. We never saw each others marks! I thought a princess would be dressed like royalty or something," Link tried, looking down at his hands which held tightly onto the reins, "she just seemed so . . . normal."

"Well because of _your_ lapse in judgement," Aveil wasn't going to let this one go, "her tyrant of a father will no doubt use this as an excuse to eradicate us."

"You didn't have to try and _kill her_," Link mentioned, starting to feel the guilt Aveil was attempting to instill on him.

"You're right. If you'd already done it in private, this never would've been an issue," she said remorselessly. Link swallowed a lump in his throat, "or better yet, if you'd actually _told_ me about her, I could have done it more _tactfully_. Either way, Hyrule would have been left without an heir, and we wouldn't have even been suspects."

Link said nothing else to defend himself. While they'd been arguing, their horses had habitually made their way up the side of the cliff that marked the entrance into Gerudo territory. The grass had disappeared from the ground a whole back, replaced with a mixture of rock and dirt in a way that wasn't ideal for cultivating crops. Currently, they were passing between two large cliffs, the familiar bridge that lead to the fortress in sight. Link felt a wave of relief crash over him at the view.

"Why couldn't you've done this when it was Nabooru's turn to bring you?" Aveil asked rhetorically, clearly worrying about how she was going to explain this fiasco to the rest of her people, "Erla probably would have let _her_ get away with it. I'm skinned."

Link still didn't respond as they took the bridge one at a time. He was worried about _himself_ getting skinned, thank you very much. The convenient formation of many large rocks created a curved passageway that lead to their fortress, making it extremely well defended. Though Aveil was in front of the boy, he still caught sight of the Night Guard who seemed utterly shocked to lay her eyes upon them.

"Aveil? Link!?" His sister exclaimed, dropping her spear slightly as she regarded them with confusion, "you weren't due back until tomorrow evening! What're you-"

"There was a problem," Aveil cut her off, not up to repeating the story just yet, "please call the council together. I have to speak with them immediately."

The guard looked like she wanted to press further, but after catching sight of the look on the other woman's face, thought better of it and simply reached for the animal-boned horn hooked on a notch in her belt. She placed her lips to the small end, and blew powerfully into it, creating an loud noise that echoed all throughout the camp, and continuously for about a mile out. The pattern in which she played it was very familiar to Link, it wasn't the danger tone, that was three long drawls. But it was one short, one long, another short, and a final long. This noise symbolized an important, immediate gathering of all members of the Gerudo. It appeared that the guard misunderstood slightly as Link was almost positive Aveil just wanted to address the council, and not the enter clan. She clearly rolled her eyes as the entire tribe started to poke their heads outside of their homes.

The Gerudo fortress was built primarily out of limestone, carved into the side of a cliff. It was huge and magnificent, very tidy and well-kept. One would be hard pressed to find a messy spot in the fortress. Besides Link's room of course.

The living quarters were mostly located to the right in huts, though some lived inside the massive fortress, like Link. These people were mostly firsts. It wasn't a matter of luxury, but a matter of security for the fortress and its interior. If anyone broke inside, it was of prevalent concern that there would be trained fighters ready to defend it.

The fortress held many weapons and the bulk of their treasury. Their books and art, as well as most of their prison cells and most all of their food supplies, so it was important that it was well guarded. They had one spire for political prisoners, but that wasn't used very often.

Link's room, as heir, was located at the very top of the fortress in the most secure location possible. It was slightly larger than the others rooms, and he had his own private study, but besides that, it wasn't really any more lavish than everyone elses.

To the west was the desert, guarded by a massive stone door that opened only for Gerudo skilled enough to make it the journey, for hunting and gathering reasons. Of course, Link was only allowed to go out to the desert if accompanied by at least two firsts, as was any child.

As torches inside of homes began to be lit, and the fortress began to stir, Link dismounted his horse without much grace, Aveil following suit. He began to lead the great mare over to the stables, when he heard someone call his name.

"Link!" An eager shout made him turn around to face the high pitched, melodic tone of his best friend. Saria was running up to him, still in her sleep clothing, and with her strangely green hair wildly flowing behind her as it wasn't tamed with a headband or hair tie.

She was another child born in the Gerudo fortress, but who had no actual Gerudo lineage. Her parents were some of the handful of people who admitted to being loyal followers of Ganondorf, so they were accepted into the clan with open arms. One can say a lot about the Gerudo, but they don't care much for blood. If someone is willing to pull their weight, then they will be received into the tribe without much complaint. In the desert, they don't really have the luxury of prejudice.

For the most part, that is.

"Saria!" Link offered the girl a surprisingly sincere smile as she jumped on the boy, her tiny body wrapping its arms around his neck.

"What are you doing back here at this hour?" She asked as she untangled herself from the boy. Link scratched the back of his neck uncomfortably.

"Ugh!" A groan sounded from a little ways away, making Link's attention shift momentarily. "Lizalfos Breath is back _early_?" he recognized that snobbish voice immediately.

"Mido," Saria gave the ginger boy a look, which made his cheeks turn a weird color, before he shook his head and reverted to eying Link with annoyance.

Mido was brought into the camp as a newborn baby. He was a little older than Saria and Link, but not by much. Still, a little older meant a little taller, and that would never cease to bother Link.

"I'm _not_ in the mood, Freckled Fart," Link warned, which made Saria give Link the same look she had Mido. Though Link didn't have any reaction.

"Your insults are as stupid as your face!" Mido spat back, making Link prickle slightly.

"Boys please!" Saria whined, placing one hand on each of their shoulders, "Link's been home for five seconds!" Link did feel bad for her, she really only wanted them to get along. It wasn't Link's fault though! He never _wanted_ to pick a fight, Mido was just a jerk.

"Sorry," the older boy murmured, looking down at the ground. He was always so much more agreeable when Saria was there.

"He started it," Link pouted, crossing his arms over his chest stubbornly.

Before anyone else could say anything, Link felt a hand roughly grab his shoulder and begin to yank him away from his friend and his . . . Mido.

"Link?" Saria asked, taking steps toward him while he was being dragged.

"I'll tell you later!" He called after her, which made the girl nod, a little concerned. Mido also looked confused, though wasn't going to complain about Link leaving. The blond boy looked up at his captor, only to unsurprisingly see Aveil's hard face, angrily strutting onwards.

Link stopped struggling and spun himself around so that he was facing the direction which Aveil was pulling him. She was predictably leading him to the council's wing of the fortress, probably planning to have him there in order to divert some of the heat away from her. Link felt his breathing increase as they passed through the stone doorway, noticing that most of the second and the first had already assembled, and they did _not_ look happy.

Aveil practically threw him into one of the seats, which didn't go unnoticed by the rest of the Gerudo gathered. They weren't exactly happy with the rough treatment of their King-To-Be, but none said anything about it as they assumed it was for a reason. He and Aveil typically got along swimmingly. Besides, he had a feeling they would change their minds in a few moments.

It only took a few more minutes for the rest of the council to gather together, slight chatter was prevalent as they all wondered aloud about what was going on. Erla, the leader, sat at the head of the long table with mild annoyance clearly written on her face. Her legs were crossed and her hands tucked into her armpits as she gave everyone at the table her trademarked glare.

"What's the meaning of this?" She fumed, silencing everyone at the table instantaneously, "the sun isn't even up yet and we're having a _meeting_? Who called this?" She demanded, uncrossing her arms only to use them for angry gestures. Aveil stood from her seated position.

"Ah, it was me Erla," Aveil's normally confident voice wavered slightly at the beginning, before correcting itself. That was some serious proof that she was nervous. Erla wasn't at her most unforgiving with regard to Aveil, some would even say she liked the sharp witted girl, but that didn't mean she would hesitate to smack her upside the head if she was told the wrong thing. That applied to everyone, actually. Double for Link.

"You're back already?" One of his sisters questioned, seeming to not have noticed her before. This started a chain reaction of Gerudo women asking what had happened, why were they back early, and if everything was alright.

"Quiet!" Erla shouted over the voices, slamming her hands on the table and rising from her seat in one fluent movement. She let her piercing gaze wander over the girls for a moment, making damn sure they weren't going to speak again, before she turned her glare to Aveil. Since Link was right next to her, he felt her shiver slightly against his arm. If they weren't so mad at each other, he might have actually tried to comfort her. But they were, so tough luck.

The woman cleared her throat slightly before speaking, "the visit to Kakariko did not go as planned. We brought back all the necessary supplies, but . . . but by my estimation, it's unlikely that we will ever be able to use Kakariko for a supply dump again," this time, instead of many voices starting an uproar, there was a chorus of gasps and looks exchanged among the sisters, as they knew they would likely be yelled at again for talking. Link shut his eyes tight, as if in pain. He knew what was coming next.

"_What_?" Erla growled, leaning forward on the table. Even hunched over, Erla towered over Aveil. Fully erect, the woman was probably 6'5''.

To give Aveil credit, she met the woman's dreadful gaze, dead on, "I attempted to assassinate the Nohansen Princess who was visiting Kakariko for unknown reasons, but was spotted by a Sheikhan Guard," Aveil let her gaze trail around the room at the utterly shocked faces, "and Link's position as Gerudo King has been compromised and revealed to both the Princess, and the Sheikhan who thwarted my attempt at killing her. I threatened the Sheikah with war if he took the boy, and it was the only way I could keep us both from becoming prisoners," Aveil finished, sitting down almost as soon as she had completed her story.

The silence almost hurt. Erla's lack of speech was particularly terrifying, she just sat there, mouth cupped in her hands, elbows resting against the table in a mix of disturbance and thought. Link nervously rubbed his hands around one another as the silence grew more thick. Absolutely no one spoke for a solid two minutes.

Finally, a brave soul found a voice, "you're-," the sister almost seemed to forget what she was saying when every one of their heads turned to stare at the pirate desperately, "you're sure that the Sheikah saw you were a Gerudo?"

"Yes," was all Aveil offered, no further details into the matter were discussed. Lucky, the question seemed to have paved way for more council members to find words.

"Link is very," another started, and stopped to search for a word before continuing, "general looking. The _two_ people who saw him probably won't remember what he looked like ten years from now when it _actually_ becomes important," she finished helpfully, causing a domino effect of nods and the occasional 'that's right's and 'good point's.

Link tugged on his shirt's collar as he prepared for Aveil to throw him under the carriage.

"Unlikely," Aveil told the council, making them quiet down once more, "in the week that we were there, Link _unknowingly_," she made sure to emphasize the word when the boy shot her a kicked-puppy look, "befriended the princess who now knows his identity."

The uproar started again, the Gerudos were yelling out too many things at once in their own individual commanding voices to pick any one speaker out of the crowed. Link regarded the scene with a wide-eyed composure, mildly horrified at the implications of this rage. And he thought he felt guilty before. How could he be trusted to lead these people if he couldn't even do the _simplest_ thing right? Don't befriend the family that ruined your clan's life. It was that easy.

Suddenly, the shouts transformed into a dull roar, and after a few moments stopped all together. Link lifted his head as he ceased in his pity-party, and noticed that Erla once again was the cause of the commotions end. This time however, she simply raised a calm hand that represented quiet, and left the other under her chin in pondering thought.

"You're telling me," the leader began, addressing Aveil but not looking at her, as Erla's eyes remained transfixed on some unknown spot on the table, "that the one thing we had over Daphnes, the _one thing_ that we'd been banking on since Link was given the trifoce of power, the _one thing_ that we could've used to take over Hyrule," she terrifyingly flicked her gaze up to look at Aveil, "has been compromised. That we have nothing now. That we have to prepare for war," it wasn't a question, so Aveil didn't bother to respond.

The rest of the council did, however. They all began offering suggestions in an uncouth manner, talking over one another and cutting each other off. Link had never seen the council behave so uncivilized. The things they said were all the same, worthless hopes, plans that always ended in an awkward trailing of words as they realized that what they were suggesting wouldn't work after all. Through all of this, Aveil just continued to look down at her lap, ashamed, and Erla just continued to burn holes into the poor Gerudo's head, daring the girl to show any emotion but shameful remorse.

Then, another sound cut through the voices of the others. This sound was out of place, inapplicable to the current crisis that had just arisen in the fortress, before even the sun. This was the sound of _laughter_.

Link tried to search the source out, bewilderment written across his cute features. The other Gerudo didn't take long to join him in his search, using their ears to try and find the very inappropriate culprit. For the dozenth time, the women stopped talking. All sound in the room ceased. Or, almost all sound.

A little ways away from the table, sitting on a lone stool on the back wall, legs up against a private desk, crossed at the ankles. Hands folded over her stomach, moving up and down quickly with the bursts of laughter that softly escaped the woman's lips as she leaned back in her chair, only supported by two of the four pegs. A woman sat. It appeared that she had gotten there late, and didn't feel it necessary to cause a scene by pulling up a chair. Possibly in one of the moments where everyone was quiet, she didn't want to disturb them. Now however, she was doing just that. Disturbing them more than anyone else had, more than any of the terrible stories they'd just been told.

"You think this is _funny_?" one of his sisters demanded of the woman, who couldn't stop smiling. Link moved his head slightly, trying to get a better look at who it was, only to let out a slightly exasperated huff when the woman opened her gorgeous, striking yellow eyes. He recognized her immediately, and he also recognized that he probably wouldn't like where this was going.

"Nabooru?" Erla asked, confusion, but not distrust, lacing her tone, "what's the meaning of this?"

Nabooru stopped chuckling at her leaders question, though she didn't stop smiling. She adjusted herself into a more formal position, placing all four legs of her chair on the floor as she brought her feet down from the small table in front of her. She lulled her head around to look Erla in the eyes.

"I just can't figure out what everyone's so _bunched_ _up_ about," she admitted honestly, shrugging her shoulders in a way that infuriated many of her sisters.

"The threat of _war_ is on our shoulders, and _you can't figure out what's wrong_?" Erla's voice was dropping to dangerous decimals. Link had a feeling that if anyone other than Nabooru had just done that, they wouldn't live to tell the tale.

"You all seriously think the Sheikah _who let Princess Zelda's attempted assassinater go in order to avoid war_, is going to tell the King of Hyrule the situation, and _start_ a war?"

Her words hit the other Gerudo like a ton of bricks.

Erla still didn't seem to accept this as an acceptable answer, "that doesn't solve the problem of the Princess knowing exactly what Link looks like, in addition to his name. We can no longer use him to sneak into the army and work his way up to having an opportunity to kill the King without _significant_ risk," she pointed out, still not letting the girl off the hook for behaving so rudely. Nabooru simply shook her head, her smile growing bigger.

"That's just it," she purred, "I don't see the problem,"

"Explain," Erla told the girl. She seemed to realize that, in the time where everyone else had been arguing, Nabooru had hatched a plan.

"Link formed a _friendship_ with this Princess Zelda in only a week," Nabooru turned to face her young King, making him feel a little queasy about her next words as she spoke directly to him, "whether that was the work of the triforce pieces, or just Link's personability, it doesn't matter. What matters is the _possibilities_," she said the final word with a devious smirk, to which Link tried to silently ask her what she was talking about.

"Go on," Erla pressed, referring to Nabooru's dramatic pause. Said Gerudo tore her gaze away from Link's, much to his annoyance as he realized that his silent message wasn't going to be conveyed.

"Don't you see?" she addressed the entire table now, who seemed to be hanging on her every word, "by getting close with the Princess, Link will be able to get closer to the King than he _ever_ would as a mere soldier," Erla smiled at her sister, a glint in her intense eyes while the woman continued, "Link may even seduce the Princess and gain Kingship the _legal_ way. _Then_ he can kill the King and his daughter, seizing the throne of Hyrule for himself, in name of the Gerudo!"

Her brief speech caused a cheer to erupt from the council of pirates, Erla's eyes sparkling with power as Link felt Aveil relax next to him. Despite everyone's cheers however, Link felt a sudden onslaught of panic.

"King of the Gerudo never suited you," Link didn't notice Nabooru approach him as she placed a confident hand on his shoulder, "King of Hyrule has always seemed _much_ more fitting," she said, still grinning as she ruffled the boy's dark blond hair.

King of Hyrule.

Link looked down at the mark on the back of his hand, staring at it intensely.

_Just like Ganondorf._

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**And there you have it! Please review, favorite, follow, or do whatever. It makes me update faster ;)**

**Don't forget, this was the _last time_ Link and Zelda are kids! The time skip that occurs next chapter will be seven years, and there won't be another one after it.**


	5. Chapter 4

**A/N Hello again everybody!**

**So yes, this is the chapter everyone has been waiting for! The *last* time skip, now everyone is all grown up and about the same age as they were in the actual Ocarina of Time game. After that time skip. Anyways.**

**It's eight years later (because I felt more comfortable writing about eighteen year olds rather than seventeen year olds)**

**I tried to have a better look out for grammar mistakes in this chapter, woopsie, hehe. I can only reread my own writing so many times before I start skimming, my bad guys! If you see anything that is just bugging you to no end, go ahead and tell me, I'll fix it! And I promise I didn't notice.**

**Also, I messed up with the whole Sheikah Shiekhan thing a few times, I'll go back and fix that by request (:**

**Also also, I'm afraid my updates will be slowing down a little since school is starting up again, but I'll still get chapters out regularly don't worry**

**On the bright side! This chapter is pretty important, so I hope you all enjoy!**

**I don't own LoZ**

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Dusk was fast approaching over the smooth, untapped emptiness that was Hyrule Field. The sun gracefully made its way behind the great elevated plain that was Death Mountain, casting an orange blanket over the land. This envelopment included a small escort of pure white, freshly groomed horses that trekked onward despite the approaching twilight. These horses pulled behind them a beautiful, though not extravagant, wooden carriage. It was spacious, with elegant engravings of triangles and swirls: the emblem of the royal family. This escort included three royal guards, each wearing their respective white, blue, and silver uniforms. One sat at the front of the carriage, gilding the two horses to their intended destination all throughout the day. Another rode next to the carriage on a separate horse, a bow and arrow strapped to his back in addition to his standard sword. The third rested his eyes inside of the cart, sleeping soundly across from the precious cargo they were transporting.

Precious indeed.

An unbelievably gorgeous woman occupied the opposite side of the carriage. Its interior was a plush, velvety red which was extremely comfortable to rest on, and the guards took turns doing just that throughout the three day voyage. Sometimes however, the guards would sacrifice their rest for the beautiful lady's charming conversation. Her voice was like honey, and her words were dignified and wise beyond her years. She rarely spoke unless she had something important to say, so the guards would give up sleep to hear her melodic voice indeed.

She was a fairly small woman, as she was quite young. A mere eighteen years old, and already she was the talk of the kingdom. Her attire was comfortable, though still lavishly crafted in the finest silks and satins. Her hair hadn't been worth putting up as she was just going to be inside of a carriage all day, so her long, soft, shimmering light blonde locks tumbled down across her back and shoulders in waves. Her face looked like it had been sculpted out of clay with the utmost of care. Her dark blue eyes, though they appeared almost weary, held something in them that captivated even the most unwilling of people.

She was Hyrule's crown jewel. Its most beloved creature.

She was its Princess Zelda.

The young woman gazed boredly out of her window. They weren't even half way to Termina, the neighboring country that she was going to visit diplomatically to discuss trade regulations, and it had already been three days worth of travel. Soon, they would have to stop at a village, the horses would need prolonged break, as would all of the guards.

It was Zelda's first lone, formal diplomatic meeting with another country. She had thus far always been accompanied by her father, or a much larger band of Noblemen if she were to visit another country. However, due to her older age and agreeable demeanor, her father finally gave the OK for her to embark on a small, controlled trip without a mass amount of guards, nor other aristocrats who would do most of the talking for her. This was Zelda's first true test as future queen.

The sun had finally set over the peaceful landscape, taking with it the comfort of stalfos-free traveling, and bringing a whole new set of dangers. They couldn't simply stop in the middle of the woodsy trail they had been traveling on, as that would be far too risky. Though there wasn't another village for miles out. They would have the brave the night on foot, yet again.

However, on this night in particular, Zelda had a startlingly eerie feeling.

Though the sun had completely disappeared beneath the horizon, it almost seemed as though there was still an orange tint to the world, as if in perpetual sunset. The air too seemed to feel a tad more thick in the princess' throat, as if there was a certain quality to it that she hadn't experienced. With slight nervousness, Zelda slid to the other side of her couch-seat and poked her head out of the window on that side.

"Good sir," the Princess summoned, addressing the marksmen who flanked the coach's right. Said man turned to the sound of his majesty's voice immediately.

"Yes Princess?" He answered, acknowledging the woman as he steered his steed closer to the carriage.

"Have you noticed the rather large fire to the right of us?" She asked a little anxiously, motioning to the other side of them, "I'm afraid someone might be hurt."

"It was probably somebody's campfire that got a little out of hand," he dismissed the idea with a wave of his hand," we should be out of the forest before it really becomes a big deal, don't worry your highness."

Zelda bit her lip, but nodded, pulling her head back inside and resting it on the back of her seat. How could a man-made fire spiral out of control so quickly? It had only been dark for a few moments, the timing of the situation just didn't feel right. Something was wrong.

As if on cue, the coach lurched backwards roughly as something startled the horses, making them whinny loudly and cease in their movement for a moment. Zelda's heart almost leaped out of her throat at the change in velocity, and the slumbering guard in front of her sat up a little too quickly, muttering something under his breath that made Zelda assume he forgot she was in the cart with him.

"What's the problem?" Zelda asked loudly, rubbing the back of her head where it had slammed against her seat.

"Something spooked the horses," the carriage guild answered from the front of the vehicle, "Go check it out," the second part was uttered a little more quietly as he was addressing the marksmen beside them. Zelda heard him urge his horse forward with a click of his tongue, readying his bow in preparation for a wolfos or stalfos that could potentially be waiting in the bushes. The guard in the seat across from her shared a look with the princess.

"I should probably head out there too," he mentioned, excusing himself from her presence as he went to exit the carriage, "pardon me Princess, I'll only be a moment."

Zelda nodded at the man, waiting patiently for a time after the two of them had ventured out and away from the carriage. Once quite a few minutes had passed with the coach in its loitering state, she finally heard a voice.

"Something's wrong," the carriage guild mentioned, mostly to himself, though Zelda felt the premonition too.

"Have the two guards returned?" Zelda asked, feeling the hair rise up on the back of her neck as she clenched her hands together tightly.

"It's too dangerous here!" The man suddenly shouted, 'yah'ing his horses forward in a very brisk pace. This action took Zelda by surprise as she was thrown all around the carriage by the bouncy barrage of forestry. She dug her polished nails into the puffy upholstery, trying hard to steady herself as the horses cantered along.

"What's going on?!" She demanded once she had finally managed to press her body against the seat in a manner so that she wasn't flying about.

"The fire's spread over here!" The guard answered over the frantic whinny's of the horses. Zelda felt her heart lurch. She'd thought the crackling noises were the sounds of the wheels crunching the bramble. It didn't make any logical sense for the fire to have reached that part of the forest in only a few minutes! There was no wind, and it had to have been several acres away from them!

"Who are you?!" The guard's screech made Zelda pale as she knew instinctively that he wasn't talking to her. The horses let out collective nays, picking up their pace to one she didn't know was possible while attached to a buggy.

"What's going on?" Zelda asked, wishing desperately she could move from her position to look out window without the risk of losing control of her body once more.

There was no answer.

The princess was alone in an unguided carriage.

"Halt!" She shouted, addressing the horses. However, her yell failed to be heard over the worrisome noises of the forest, "halt!" she repeated, closing her eyes tightly as she was unsure of what to do.

Suddenly, the cart lurched violently, having hit a fallen log of some sort, and throwing the princess out of her relatively stabled position, and onto the other side of the seats. The carriage continued to topple erratically, turning from its upright position onto its side, all the while whipping Zelda around the upholstery. She heard the whinny's of the horses grow distant, and realized that they had broken free from the death trap they were carrying, leaving the Princess behind.

Feeling bruised but not broken, Zelda sat herself up as quickly as possible. She'd no idea where the fire was in accordance to the cart, and it was very possible that there were less than friendly monsters wondering about as well. She had to act.

The Princess looked down, realizing that she was sitting _on top _of the door, as well as one of the only two windows. she looked to her sides, the walls encasing her were sturdy, and blank, with no way to break through. She then brought her attention upwards to the other window.

Zelda stood up on unsteady legs, wrapping her arms around the outside of the window, as it was just a bit higher than she was tall. She then tried her best to hoist herself up, managing to lodge the sides of the window under her armpits and poke her head out by jumping. It was this way that she was able to take in the extent of her problem.

The fire surrounded her. It wasn't just coming from one direction but from _all_ directions. The horses were no where in sight, clearly they took off on the only presentable path before that too became enveloped in embers. The carriage's wheels and the overhang where the guard had sat were ripped apart and resting in a line where the cart had slid, sitting atop the long indent that the vehicle had made in the dirt.

Zelda kicked her feet out, managing to find foothold on one of the seats, and walked herself up while pushing upwards with her arms. Once she had fully gotten her top half out of the coach, she was hit with a wave of blackness. She began to choke on the air, her eyes unable to adjust in the thick smoke cloud. As she tried to wave away the smog, she lost her footing, and slid off of the top of the carriage, hitting the ground with an audible thump. Zelda silently thanked the goddess that she had, as at least the air was breathable down there.

Forcing her battered body to rise, the Princess was met with another cloud of smoke, though not as heavily as before. She attempted to cover her mouth with her hand, to offer at least some form of ventilation as she attempted to run in a direction that seemed to have the least amount of fire.

It was like a maze. Every time Zelda thought she had found a way out, another wall of embers would rise up into her path, and she would have to make multiple turns and convoluted twists. Her body was growing weak, her thoughts becoming as cloudy as the air she was struggling to breath around her. Finally, the young woman's body couldn't take it any longer. Her dress got snagged on a fallen log, tearing it and tripping the Princess, ultimately landing her onto the forest floor once more. This time, however, she simply did not have the strength to get up.

_A Few Hours Earlier_

The sound of the horn echoed urgently across the openness of Gerudo valley. A chestnut horse stirred in excitement and anticipation, as if knowing that this noise meant she was about to be let loose and into a hard run. She wasn't wrong. Though incidentally, the woman buzzing around the fortress seemed just as exuberant as the horse.

"It's time!" One of the woman shouted, as if it wasn't already obvious enough, as she tore into the stables in excitement, "Saria, Mido, you've got to go!"

The pair exchanged glances, before quickly completing the saddle jobs they had been working on. This was a tad bit sooner than expected.

"Do you think we have enough fire arrows?" The green haired beauty asked the extremely tall red-head, while she carefully packed loads of the sharpened items into the bags hanging off of the side of her horse.

"Plenty," Mido answered the girl, grinning maniacally.

Both of these young adults were very slim, though this may have been attributed to the lack of easy food available in the fortress. Saria had very little muscle build for a Gerudo, though she didn't do much heavy work anyways. Mido could simply be defined as tall and lanky, though one shouldn't allow his looks to fool, as he was rather gifted with a blade.

"Where's Link?" Saria asked as she slipped onto her horse, a little nervously. Mido fought the urge to groan, but couldn't suppress a roll of his eyes.

"Late as usual," He commented, mounting his equally as impressively tall horse. Saria's stallion began to prance in anticipation, almost as eager as Mido.

"He has to leave right after us! And he'll be gone for much longer," Saria frown, looking out at the Gerudo Women who seemed almost annoyed that the pair hadn't galloped off yet.

"Well we're just going to have to see him on the way then, aren't we?" Mido asked rhetorically, then 'yah'ed his horse onward and out of the stable. Saria sighed, kicking her own animal forward into a gallop.

The Gerudo cheered, raising their spears and weapons in recognition of the honorary members as they trotted down the center of the chaos and toward the gate. Saria took one last look around the fortress, catching sight of a familiar, sprinting blonde head making its way down the side of the mountain, a little hysterically. Saria grinned, leaning forward on her stallion in a request for him to pick up speed and catch up with Mido.

Meanwhile, said blond man rushed on his way down to the stables, toting a bag of essentials behind him as he hopped over the rocks and cracks in his path, one boot on, and the other being semi-pulled onto his foot while he ran. He would easily be able to make up any lost time with his lightning bolt of a horse, but it was the _consequences_ of being late that worried him.

When he reached the stables, he took the back entrance in an attempt to avoid the angry comments from his sisters, rushing over to his horse only to discover that she was already saddled.

"Late I see," a smooth, mocking voice cooed from behind him. He flinched a little, and turned around to see the leader of the Gerudo lounging against a stable door and eying him with a perked brow, "are we really surprised?"

The young man shot her a characteristic grin, then threw his nap sack atop the relatively, in comparison to the other Arabians that is, small horse, "I'm here now aren't I?" he offered, hoisting himself up onto his already saddled mare.

"I suppose," the woman sighed, then held another pouch out to the boy, "here," she offered, "you'll catch a cold."

He took hold of the animal-sinned bag and opened its contents, before his eyes lit up and he turned to the Gerudo, "Hey thanks Nabooru!"

"The weather isn't that cold, but it'll be a culture shock to you, so you'll feel chilly. The tunic will help with that. Also, the green will help you blend in," she explained taking the bag back from him as he attempted to put the tunic on over his sword and shield.

Link was particular. Most Gerudo pirates didn't bother with shields, as they only tended to weigh them down and create more steps before the inevitable: defeating the target. If a Gerudo wanted to dodge, she would jump out of the way. Instead of a shield, she used two swords, dealing twice the damage. However, Link seemed to appreciate this extra commodity. He still jumped and dodged, but he preferred to read how his opponent fought before actually engaging them in a battle, so a shield was necessary for this.

Though the young man wasn't as tall as Mido, he was _significantly_ more built. His chiseled, though still slightly young looking features gave him a strikingly handsome appearance, which he often used to his advantage. His smile was as bright as the sun, and his eyes as blue as the sky, and using these attributes, he'd learned he could practically get away with anything.

That, and being their king and all.

"Ya look great kid," Nabooru rolled her eyes as he brushed his shoulders cockily, and waited for him to tuck his puffy pant leg into his poorly-put-on brown leather boot. Once he had completed this activity, he flicked his eyes up to meet her gaze.

"Have any other gifts to shower me with?" he asked, waggling his brow.

"Just one more," Nabooru's unexpected response took Link by surprise as she started to walk behind his horse, Epona. Link followed a brow, but before he could turn to see what she was doing, he heard a painful sounding slap that was directed at his horse's rear. Link was immediately catapulted forwards with his horse, almost falling off the end as she let out a surprised whinny and galloped out of the stables with great speed.

"Remember who you're fighting for!" Link heard his leader call, as he attempted to adjust himself as to not fall off of his mare. He clenched his teeth and bit back the urge to call her a few nasty names.

The Gerudo who were waiting to send him off cheered even louder for him than they had Saria and Mido, despite his disheveled appearance and obvious attempts at calming down his horse. They even seemed to not take notice of his late timing!

He rode Epona through the Gerudo gates, over the broken bridge, and into the 'off limits' country of Hyrule. Once his poor horse had calmed herself, the ride became a little more slow and a lot more smooth. All in all, much more fun. Link's favorite pass time was sneaking off into Hyrule field, terrifying everyone in Gerudo fortress with his absence, and just riding Epona until he decided he'd put his sisters through enough worry.

He rode at this fast pace until he caught sight of two familiar riders a little in the distance, heading toward the same direction he was. He slowed Epona until she matched their pace exactly, tagging behind Saria and Mido by about an acre for the rest of the ride.

After about an hour, the two honorary Gerudo began to prepare their bow and arrows, lighting the tips aflame before firing them off onto trees and bushes. It didn't take them long to pinpoint exactly where their target was, and they started directing their arrows toward the royal carriage. This was Link's cue.

It took him a little longer than he expected to track down their prey, however. She was a squirmy little thing. After Saria and Mido had obliterated her guard, he'd expected her to be waiting helplessly in the broken carriage. Trapped, perhaps feinted in terror. However, when he inspected the broken cart, he'd found no princess.

None at all.

Upon brief inspection, brief because the fire was closing in on him, he'd noticed small, freshly made, heeled human shoe prints in the dirt. Link crouched on the ground, trying to follow the path that the girl took with his eyes before standing up straight once again.

He sighed, mounting Epona and using her to make a graceful jump over a flaming log, and attempted to follow the girls prints. He got lost several times, she made so many turns it almost seemed unnecessary, and was becoming very aware of the lack of oxygen getting to his brain in the cloud of smoke. Epona no doubt was feeling the effects as well, though she didn't question her friend's methods even once, despite the fact that he had just lead the horse into a fire, and refused to leave.

It took some serious navigation, but eventually, Link caught sight of a small purple mound of clothing and blonde hair, covered in soot and looking over-all pathetic.

_Hmph. I knew she would be passed out._ He thought to himself.

Despite this judgment, Link jumped off of his horse in excitement, unsheathing his sword as soon as his feet touched the ground. Epona whinnied, uncomfortable with the place that Link had left her in, but he held his hand out for her to wait as he set his sights on the collapsed girl, his hand clenching tightly around the sword's hilt.

He crouched down next to her, rolling her over and onto her back to assure himself that it was the girl he was looking for. He pressed his fingers to the side of her neck, feeling a slight pulse as evidence that she was alive. Despite the dirt and blood covering her features, he indeed made out the semi-familiar face from his childhood. He had found Zelda.

Grinning maniacally, he brought his sword inward, making a slicing motion without hesitation as he felt the steel rip through its intended target.

He then put his sword down and pulled the fabric of the skirt the rest of the way, damaging the already damaged dress a little more than necessary. After this, he ripped the purple strip of fabric in half, bringing it to his face and tying it behind his head, covering his mouth for ventilation purposes. He then took the other half of the fabric and did the same to the Princess, before sheathing his sword, hoisting her up, and roughly tossing her over his shoulder.

He made his way back over to the anxious horse, and flopped the Princess onto Epona's back, just behind the saddle. Link pulled himself up after this, grabbing hold of the horse's mane and ushering her onwards lightly. However, the ever-eager Epona took off quickly in clear want to exit the flaming forest. Link would have been fine with this, if he didn't hear a rather loud thump sound from behind them.

Groaning, the Gerudo Prince halted Epona once more, much to her exasperation. He then jogged back over to the fallen princess, who luckily hadn't woken up after that fall. He once again threw her over his shoulder, and then onto Epona. However this time, he placed the girl in front of him in an upright position, so that she would be more balanced when Epona no doubt had another quick start. Although, because of the Princess' multiple skirts, this position took a while to maneuver the limp body in. Not to mention, once she finally got both legs around the mare, her damn dress turned into a tent, puffing out at the sides and making it near impossible to reach over.

Growing impatient, Link drew his sword once more and hacked away the middle of the dress, allowing it to flow downward next to her legs on the side, but not obstructing her riding position. Honestly, the girl was wearing pants under it so he really didn't see the point of the skirts in the first place.

Realizing he didn't have any more time to waste, Link threw himself onto his horses back, balancing the woman between his arms as he grasped hold of Epona's white mane. The horse didn't bother waiting for a command, she simply took off as fast as she dared with the forest terrain, and worked on getting the two blond humans out safely.

As the duo worked to avoid flaming trees and the spreading fire, it became prevalent to Link that Saria and Mido had went a little crazy with the whole set everything ablaze thing. Honestly, they must've used a hundred arrows. He groaned angrily as another crisped tree fell in their way, making Epona rear in surprise and turn away from the now obstructed path. He tried another way, clicking Epona on into a dangerously fast gait, as he set his sights on a smaller wall of fire. They were running straight for it.

The horse, reading her rider's mind, didn't need to be told when the three came upon the flames to jump over them. She made an impressive landing a few feet away from it, gracefully switching back into a run with no difficulty.

They'd made it out of the circle of fire.

* * *

The world came back to her in bursts. The light pounded against her eyelids violently, making her squint and groan in annoyance. As she moved her head to try and obstruct her face, she realized how stiff and uncomfortable her body felt. The surface she had been sleeping on seemed as hard as rock. She brought her hands up to her face, rubbing it and moaning as a head ache slowly made its pounding way over her consciousness.

What in Din's name had happened last night?

Zelda's headache only seemed to increase as she tried to think back on what had happened. She was either wildly intoxicated last night, or she had a concussion. As memories slowly made their way back into her mind, Zelda realized it must have been the latter.

Recalling the last position she had been in, the young princess gasped, opening her eyes wide and sitting up a little too quickly for her liking.

"Ow," she murmured, her rubbing the top of her head with her hand.

"Oh hey," The words startled the Princess as she froze, "look who's up! Mornin' Sleeping Beauty," The voice was a little muffled, as if it was talking with its mouth full. Zelda's eyes fluttered upwards, adjusting to the light after only a few moments.

The sight before her made the Princess' mouth drop in surprise.

Sitting in the grass a few feet away, was a young man. He couldn't have been much older than her, dressed a little warmly for the weather. His face was stuffed full with a meat of some sort that was roasting on a small campfire he had built between them. A little ways behind the man, was a beautiful chestnut and white mare, grazing idly on the grass. The unknown man gave Zelda a meat-filled smile.

"Wh-what?" was all the Princess could manage as she looked all around her, not catching any sight of her guards, the carriage, or even the forest she had been traveling through.

"Rabbit?" The man offered, spitting some food out while he spoke as he removed the roasting meat from the fire and held it out to her.

"Who are you?" Zelda questioned, slightly repulsed as she slid away from the offer, "and where am I?"

"_Excuse_ me," The man finally swallowed, de-puffing his features as he set his food down at his side. In the dirt, "aren't you gonna thank me?"

Zelda couldn't form proper words once she got a good look at the man's face. It was oddly familiar and just as strangely . . . beautiful. His mannerisms were disgusting and his voice wasn't recognizable, but there was something about the man's face. Maybe it was his eyes?

"I-" she began, trying desperately to remember where she had seen the boy, "you-"

"I'm waiting," he pointed out with a dimpled grin, standing up from his position to approach the girl. Zelda pushed herself back a little in nervousness, though still couldn't speak, "not even a kiss for your knight in shining armor?" He joked, tapping his cheek while making a kissy face.

Zelda stood up immediately as the full weight of the situation kicked in. She had no idea who this man was! Or what he was capable of. She'd noticed he had a sword and shield leaning against a tree a little ways away from the campsite, and now that he was closer she could see that beneath his tunic, he had silver chainmail protecting him. He also certainly wasn't built like a pushover. This man was potentially dangerous.

"Who are you?" Zelda repeated angrily, preparing to make a run for the horse if necessary, "why did you bring me here?" She demanded, crossing her arms defensively. The man simply rolled his eyes.

"Seriously Zel it was a joke," he muttered, making her breath quicken nervously, "and what do you mean 'why'd I bring you here?' Would you have _preferred_ I left you to burn in that fire?" He placed his hands to his side snarkily.

"How do you know my name?" she breathed inspecting the man's features deeply as she tried to search through her memory banks.

"Huh?" The man looked at her like she was crazy.

"My name," Zelda repeated, "you just called me 'Zel'"

"I did?"

"Yes!"

"You're sure?"

"Yes I'm sure!" Zelda shouted, bunching her hands into fists at her sides, "you just called me a _nickname_ for Faroe's sake! Where do I know you from?"

"Dunno," the man shrugged inconspicuously, looking over to the side as if feigning innocence. Zelda couldn't believe what was happening. She had just almost _died_ and this man was _toying_ with her.

She didn't bother to speak another word, instead she walked over to the grazing animal, who seemed completely indifferent to her presence. She ran a gloved hand over the horse briefly, before grasping hold of the animals saddle

"What're you doing?" the man asked, though she ignored him as she yanked herself up with her aching muscles, placing her feet in each foothold, "you aren't going to try to run away are you?" he asked another question, to which Zelda decided to respond to.

"I'm going back to the source of the fire to see if I can find my Guard, _then_ I'm going back home to Castle Town," she told him, grasping hold of the animals mane as he raised a brow at the Princess, "I appreciate your alleged 'rescuing' of me from the fire, but I can take it from here."

"So you're going to steal my horse?" he didn't sound angry, more _amused_ as he smiled at the girl.

"Borrow," she corrected, "come to the castle and request me by name, as I'm sure you _know_ my name, and I will have your mare returned to you," she finished as dignifiedly as she possibly could, "I bid thee adieu,"

With that, the princess clicked her tongue and kicked at the horse with her heels, instructing it forwards. However, the stubborn animal appeared not to take notice, as it didn't even flinch from its grazing. The Princess blinked in confusion, kicking her heels inwards one more time. The horse whinnied in annoyance, but still made no movement.

"Problem?" the man asked.

"Make it move!" Zelda demanded of the man, infuriated with his constant belittling.

"And leave me stranded?" He actually started to chuckle, "sheesh you really are a brat," he waved his hand in dismissal, before walking back over to the campfire and picking his food off the ground once more, shoving it in his mouth repugnantly.

The princess was about to respond with the same amount of rage she had exhibited earlier, before she seemed to recall something. She slowly let go of the horse as she took in a quick breath.

"_Even if you are a spoiled brat"_

"_It was a joke Zel, cool it"_

"_I'll call you 'Zel', you call me 'Duh'"_

"Link?" The princess asked, sliding off of the horse in curiosity as she took a few steps forwards.

"What is it now?" the young man asked rhetorically, not bothering to take notice of the fact that she used his real name.

"You're . . . Link aren't you?"

"Wow," he rolled his eyes as he turned the rabbit meat over the fire, "the triforce of wisdom picked a _great_ host," he garbed sarcastically

"Why did you save me?" She ignored his comment. Zelda wasn't sure if knowing the identity of the boy made her feel more secure, or more endangered, "the last time I saw you, you tried to-"

"_I _didn't try to do anything," Link turned to glare at her slightly, "I was _ten_. I had no part in the actions of that Gerudo."

"You," Zelda swallowed, feeling very uncomfortable under his glare, "you're their _King_," she managed to summon back some dignity as she continued to speak in an authoritative voice, "what are you doing in Hyrule field?"

"You're kidding right?" Link grinned at the Princess, and she tried her best to keep her temper under wraps, "you really thought I was the _ruler_ of those _savages?_" Zelda blinked back her surprise, "first off, I'm not even really Gerudo, in case you couldn't tell," he gestured to himself, "not to mention the fact that I'm a guy. Again, in case you couldn't tell," he gestured more crudely, which made Zelda wrinkle her nose in disgust.

"You were traveling with a Gerudo that you called _sister_," Zelda pointed out, digging at the slightly repressed memory, "she called you their King,"

"It was the only way she could make sure we weren't captured. If she gave me to that d- . . . Sheikah of yours, what would have stopped him from killing her where she stood?" Link told her, turning back to the fire as he twisted the meat once more.

"Why are you in Hyrule?" Zelda repeated, not looking for any more excuses.

"I haven't lived with the Gerudo since I was fourteen," Link answered, "where would you have me go?"

"You're an illegal citizen then," Zelda explained, not quite feeling comfortable around him despite his explanation, "you haven't been able to find real work without papers have you?"

"Nope," Link muttered, "I can't stay in villages for long either because people get suspicious. I was living in that forest for a while before it burned down," he pulled something out of his pocket and turned back around to give it to Zelda, "sorry about your dress by the way," he said as he held the strip of fabric out to her.

Zelda took it back slowly, realizing it was the fabric of her skirts, before looking down and gasping in shock. Her dress was completely ripped to shreds! You could see her entire pantalettes!

"What did you do?!" She demanded, moving the strips of fabric hanging off of her hips around in an attempt to cover her under garments. Link just eyed her strangely.

"You're . . . wearing pants," he pointed out. Zelda glared.

"These aren't _pants!_ they're pantalettes! Women wear them _under_ dresses!"

"I'm still hearing the word pants," Link responded boredly, before smiling at the flustered Princess, "and besides, if nothing else, at least I get to tell people I saw Hyrule's Princess in her underwear."

"You'll tell _no one_ _anything_," Zelda hissed, giving up on trying to somehow manipulate the pathetic amount of fabric into a new dress. She couldn't decide if it would be better to just rip it off altogether, or leave the scraps.

"Again, I was kidding," Link gave the Princess a once over, "you really need to lighten up.

"No, what I _need_ to do," Zelda began, ripping the last shreds of her dress off in a moment of rage, "is get back _home_. No doubt my guard is worried sick. Which way was the forest?" Zelda asked him, deciding to simply walk there rather than deal with the man another moment.

Link snorted, "what forest? Didn't you hear me? The whole thing burned down last night," Zelda stopped ripping the fabric.

"_What?_" She questioned, feeling an onslaught of panic

"Anyone who was in there is either dead, or long gone by now," Link mentioned, standing up and brushing off his pants, "that includes your precious guard."

Zelda was taken aback. Should she still go back and try to look for them? Or was Link right? After all, they would have a much better chance of surviving on their own than she would.

"Well, it's been a blast talking to you Princess," Link gibed sarcastically, removing his food before pouring a bottle of water over the fire, and then stepping on the cinders to assure it was fully out, "but I've got to head out. New homes to find and such, see ya later," he said as he walked past the girl, heading over to his grazing mare. Said horse excitedly neighed when he approached, reacting in an opposite way than she had to Zelda. That being, reacting.

Zelda placed her hands on her hips. He was bluffing, she could tell. His voice was sing song and his walk was too bouncy. There was no way he would leave her stranded in the middle of Hyrule, with no sense of direction, or supplies.

"You're kidding, right?" Zelda said, sarcasm lacing her tone as she refused to buy into his childish behavior _again_.

"Why would I be kidding?" Link questioned innocently, tilting his head to the side. Zelda simply stared. The man shrugged, hopping up onto his horse who began to prance in place excitedly.

"You're really leaving," Zelda stated simply.

"I'm really leaving," Link confirmed, readying himself on the horse.

"Really?"

"Really."

"Then _why_ haven't you moved yet," Zelda asked him, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Oh right," Link grinned sheepishly, then flicked his heels slightly into his horse's side. The mare snorted, then began to walk in a relatively slow gait, which Link slowed further by leaning back on the horse. Zelda sighed.

"Goodbye Princess!" Link shouted, unnecessarily loudly considering his only slight distance from the girl.

She still said nothing.

"I'm really leaving!" Link yelled again. Zelda started to pick dirt out from under her nails. He looked back at her, then added, "leaving in the direction of Hyrule Castle!"

It suddenly struck Zelda, what Link wanted.

"I can get you citizenship," She called to the boy, who immediately turned his horse around to trot back over to her.

"I'm sorry, what was that?" Link asked, cupping a hand next to his ear in Zelda's direction. The princess looked the man in his beautiful eyes, and repeated her previous statement.

"I will get you citizenship, _if_ you return me back to Hyrule Castle in one piece," Zelda told the young man, who lit up in excitement.

"Really?! That's great!" He exclaimed, holding a hand out for the Princess to take. She couldn't help but give Link a small smile, he really was quite childish. She took hold of his calloused, dirty hand, surprised at how quickly he hoisted the girl up and atop his horse. She took a moment to scramble herself onto the horse properly, then grasped hold of the edge of the saddle tightly.

"We're about a three day's ride from Hyrule Castle with few breaks," Zelda mentioned to him as she settled in, "that is, if you didn't bring us that far away from the forest already," the Princess ran a hand through her golden hair, using the fabric Link had given her earlier to tie it back into a ponytail, "and remember, this is strictly a business relationship. Just get me home as soon as possible, and you will be rewarded with what you seek. We will speak only when necessary, because frankly, you bother me, and there will be no-"

"Three days? You insult us!" Link cut her off, acting scandalized as he pet his horse's neck, ignoring the rest of her words, "we can do it in two!"

Zelda didn't get a chance to respond to him, as he clicked his tongue and sent his horse into a frighteningly fast gallop. Zelda almost fell off the back of the mare, grasping desperately for the back of Links tunic as her fingers continuously lost grip because of his _stupid_ chainmail. Finally, the princess gave up, grabbing each of Link's broad shoulders as she leaned forward, pressing herself against his back reluctantly.

Business indeed.

* * *

**And so it begins! Less dialog, more action. Feel free to review or pm me with your thoughts, or follow or fav or whatever! It really does make me update faster I wish I was kidding.**


	6. Chapter 5

**A/N Hello Again all!**

**I'm really sorry this chapter took so long to get out. School is rough, yadda yadda, hopefully this won't become a pattern. I'm thinking I should get the chapter out to ya'll by next month, I hope you like it.**

**Thank you for waiting so patiently!1! **

**I don't own LoZ**

* * *

The unlikely pair rode on like that for a surprisingly long time. The horse seemed to not notice the extra weight as it galloped through the clean grassy plains that were Hyrule Field. Link had a destination in mind already: one far enough from both Gerudo and Hylians alike. Zelda however, appeared mildly enraged with him as she dug her dainty fingers unnecessarily hard into his sides, though refused to comment on his obvious exploitation of her comfort zone. He had to cut it to the princess, she was pretty fun to piss off.

Eventually, the threesome hit a fence covered groove, one that blocked off an otherwise open trail to more land. The sun had already begun to set, just as Link had predicted, and he had made it to his desired campsite with a perfect amount of time to spare. He increased Epona's gait with a kick of his legs, and the horse instantly bolted forwards unabashedly into the tall fencing. He felt Zelda's death grip become even tighter as Epona rose into the air, scaling the blockade almost majestically.

They continued on for only a few moments more before Link had to disguise his complete and utter shock at the sight they stumbled upon.

He'd passed Lake Hylia multiple times, he'd almost even stopped and approached it a few, but decided against it just in case he saw any freaky mythical Fish-People. However, he'd never actually _seen_ the body of water that was Lake Hylia. It was ginormous! The water seemed to extend on forever, painted a pretty color under the orangy-yellow sunset. Besides this, the liquid was essentially clear, and one could see straight through to the bottom of the lake. The shores were virtually untapped, which possibly had something to do with the fencing, and the only noticeable population was a lone cottage all the way across the lake, whose windows were lit and that had smoke coming from its chimney.

He slowed his horse down in amazement, jumping off of the animal in order to approach the Lake's surface. Immediately, he filled his couple of empty bottles up to the brim, shocked that there weren't more people out here doing just that.

He was torn from his trance as he heard a thump from behind him, and turned to see the Princess ungracefully slide off of his mare. He was supposed to help her with that wasn't he? A small smile quirked at the edges of his mouth and he shrugged a little to himself. Oh well.

"Is this where we're camping out tonight?" Zelda asked him, trying her best to play off her landing.

"Sure is," he replied, slipping his bottles back into his pouch as he made his way over to his horse and began to remove his sparse supplies, "you wouldn't happen to know how to fish would you?"

"I could figure it out," she replied noncommittally.

"So no?" Link inferred.

"I read a woodsman book once that described it," she responded haughtily, "if we just had a fishing rod I could certainly make it work."

"If we had a fishing rod _Epona_ could make it work," Link rolled his eyes, "forget it I'll figure something out," he waved her off, walking a little ways away to the tree line to see if he would find any particularly attractive looking sticks

The princess didn't bother to respond to him, instead she clenched her hands and teeth, looking away from him with a clenched expression as she clenched her emotions.

Link thought that was the perfect describing-word for the princess. Clenched.

He shook his head in slight amusement, selecting a long branch that had been shed from the canopy of trees, and returned back to his companion's side. There he fished a knife out from his pouch and began to sharpen the stick into a spear. With slight appreciation at his own resourcefulness, the Gerudo made his way over to the waters edge, standing on a flat rock that protruded slightly outwards, more deeply into the lake. Here, Link crouched, spear grasped firmly in his hand as he waited.

After quite a few moments past, long enough for the sun to almost completely submerge behind Death Mountain, movement beneath the water caught the young man's attention. Hunger caused excitement as he clutched his spear tightly, his eyes wide as he waited for his unsuspecting prey to swim closer, and closer, until it was in the ideal position.

He plunged his spear downwards, water splashing back into his face in a wave and soaking his upper body. He cursed, shaking his head and spraying droplets everywhere as he tried to peer through the ripples he'd created in an attempt to see if he had caught himself a meal. Link cursed louder when he realized he hadn't.

"How dignified," Zelda said dryly, making Link's face drop as he yanked his spear out from the bottom of the lake, "You're right, the horse _could_ do better." Though her tone was cold, the Princess held mirth in her eyes.

"_The horse could do better_," Link echoed in a high pitched imitation of her voice, "how about _you_ do something useful?" He hissed, composing himself as he positioned his body into a striking stance over the water once more.

He heard her sigh in response, and then some movement and scuffling going on behind him, but didn't bother to turn and look. He was going to catch a damn fish if it killed him.

_A Few Hours Later_

"This is _killing_ me!" Link shouted in annoyance as he plunged his freezing hand angrily into the water to grab after his makeshift spear, which was now floating away. By this time, the moon was high in the sky, illuminating the otherwise tranquil lake with a thousand shimmering lights as the stars reflected on its surface.

"Then give up," Zelda offered, sounding tired. After all, there was no way she was getting any sleep with his constant groans and yells. Link tried to create a current towards him so that his stick would float back by paddling with his arms.

The fire Zelda had made a few hours earlier after Link had snapped at her was crackling invitingly, causing orange to dance across the Princess' silhouette as she was curled up next to it, clinging to a blanket she had found on Epona's saddle.

"Are you kidding?" Link growled, partly to the Princess and partly to the fact that he no longer had a weapon.

"No," Zelda sighed, sitting up to look at him with concern in her eyes, "Hylians can survive weeks without food, but only eleven days without sleep. You're better off just getting some rest," Link fought back the urge to groan exasperatedly. He knew she was right.

Defeated, the Gerudo slinked over to the fire, and plopped himself down next to it. His tunic was already drying on a rock beside him, though it was still damp and it wasn't a wise decision to put it back on just yet. He sighed as he removed his undershirt, which was also soaked, and placed it next to his tunic to dry as well.

"Here," Zelda said, holding out the blanket she had been using, almost immediately after Link removed his shirt. Her face was a weird reddish color as she looked away from him. It was probably the torch light.

"You're sure?" He asked her, to which she nodded quickly, still looking away, and Link then grabbed the blanket eagerly.

"Thanks dollface!"

"Don't call me that," Zelda stated emotionlessly as she huddled herself next to the fire once more. He grinned, wrapping the blanket around him as he did the same, trying to suppress his injured pride and growling stomach with the gratefulness of warmth.

He could always try again in the morning.

* * *

A familiar splashing sound stirred an overtired Zelda from her light slumber. She groaned, pulling her body tighter into a ball as she attempted to ignore it. Another sound caused her eyebrows to furrow in frustration. She could tell it wasn't morning by the lack of light pounding against her eyelids. The only source of brightness came from the fire.

"Link, go to bed," she murmured in a quiet voice, almost inaudibly. The splashing sounds stopped, much to her relief. Her face slowly loosened as her mind started to wander, and the blissful wave of unconsciousness began to once again sweep her away.

Yet it was not to be.

Something wet and slimy slapped tightly across the Princess' mouth, draining any ounce of fatigue from her form as fear took its place. Her eyes shot open, hands grabbing for whatever was blocking her voice and forcing only muffled noises to struggle their way out. Her wrists were quickly detained, and tied behind her back before she had time to even react.

She thrashed her body stubbornly, refusing to give under her captors obviously superior strength. However, as quickly as her hands were tied, so were her feet. She glanced around desperately, trying to find some way, _any_ way out of her present situation. By the light of the fire, she could see multiple figures moving around her, represented by shadowy, human-like forms with indistinguishable features. They moved all around the campsite with great swiftness, though Zelda struggled to see what they were doing.

She continued attempting to shout and squirm, clearly posing more of a difficult hostage than her captor was expecting as they continued to detain her. She managed to catch sight of a mound of blankets she assumed was Link, who somehow had not awoken despite the racket she was trying to create. Terror overtook her further when the pillagers began to prod at his form, ripping away the blanket that covered him. Unfortunately, her view of what was happening was hidden when the kidnappers pulled something over her eyes.

She thrashed harder, screamed louder, tried as hard as she possibly could to free herself from their grasp. Something strangely scented pressed against her nose tightly, serving no ventilation as she struggled to breath through the strongly-smelling cloth.

After only a few more moments, the blissful wave of unconsciousness began to once again sweep her away.

* * *

"_Zelda,"_

A distorted whisper sounded off in the distance, urging the Princess to open her tired eyes.

"_Zelda_," It repeated. A little closer this time.

"_Zelda!_"

The princess sucked in a rapid breath as she sat up a little too quickly, remembering her present situation with a terrible feeling. Her eyes darted around her surroundings, taking a moment to adjust to the presence of light.

The sound of rushing water immediately tricked Zelda into believing she was still resting by Lake Hylia, though her eyes quickly dispelled this theory. All around her was carefully smoothed wood and peculiar curved tree roots. She noted that she was likely inside of a cell, with the roots acting as doors. She also realized that her hands and feet were bound, quite uncomfortably, by what she assumed was rope. Her torn, dirty clothing appeared even more tattered, and she could only wonder just how pitiful the Great Princess of Hyrule looked in this state. Although on a lighter note, the smell of her jail was fresh and clean, like a perpetually flowing riverbank.

"Rough night, huh?"

The voice surprised her, causing her to glance upwards and across her curved-root cell doors into another cell directly across from hers. She let out a sigh of relief at the half-naked, partly smiling, blond form of Link.

"Indeed," she told him, looking down at the strange ground to avoid gawking at his well-toned body. It wasn't proper.

"You didn't happen to have any weapons concealed on you, did you?" Link asked her, to which the Princess shook her head dejectedly. Link let out a huff of annoyance.

"As soon as I find a way out of here I'm setting this whole shit-box on fire," he muttered, flopping onto his back and hitting the solid, ringlette-decorated floor. Zelda furrowed her brow.

"I don't believe that would be effective," she told him as she strained to hear what sounded like a waterfall.

"Whataya mean?" Link asked, "this whole prison is made of wood. _Wood_. As in _firewood_." he rolled his eyes to himself, "damn that Triforce really knows how to pick 'em."

"Yes I can see that," she flicked her eyes up to glare at him for a moment, "but it's not _all_ wood. If I'm right, and I usually am," Link scoffed at her, "this entire complex is just a micro-lake located inside of one giant tree."

"What?" he questioned disbelievingly, sitting up in order to shoot the Princess with a look of confusion.

"Yes that makes sense!" Zelda's eyes widened at her realization, "I've never been personally, but I've seen paintings and had it described to me in many a book. We're in-"

"-Zoras Domain," a cool, unfamiliar voice finished for her, making the pair jump and turn their heads toward it quickly, "how unfortunate for you."

The figure that just spoke was not Hylian. A tall, strong, human-like creature, covered head to toe in silver and blue scales, approached the two prison cells with a graceful demeanor. He differed physically from Hylians with the additions of long, fin-like structures extending off of his arms, which were colored in a beautiful mesh of blues and greys that gave off the appearance of waves. More of these elegant fins also came off of his back, swaying slightly as he walked. The back of his head stretched into a tail-like flipper, and his feet were large and webbed. His dark eyes were void of all emotion as he regarded the disgruntled pair, his gaze flicking between the two respectively. Zelda was taken aback by the creatures unexplainable beauty.

"Hey fish-guy!" Zelda winced, "let us out! Unless you want things to _really _get unfortunate!" Link demanded, yanking at his binds in an attempt to free himself. The Zora twitched slightly, but ultimately remained calm.

"I would behave more civilized if I was in your situation," the Zora told him, "your freedom is in _our_ hands after all," his monotone voice remained icy as he spoke. Link scowled darkly, meeting the Zoras gaze with a menacing glare.

"Please," Zelda began in an attempt to quell any hostility, "If my friend and I have done anything to offend you or your people, I deeply apologize, but you cannot hold us here. We haven't done anything wrong," She tried, hoping to Nayru Link would keep his mouth shut, "please, tell us what we did and we will do our best to correct it."

"We didn't _do_ anything! Your stupid cronies jumped us for no reason!"

"Quite the suspicious pair you two are," the Zora answered ominously, capturing Zelda's attention at least, though only appearing to infuriate Link further, "arriving undocumented in Zora territory on the _same_ _night_ that our most precious possession goes missing," He turned his back to Zelda in order to set his void eyes upon Link, "Quite suspicious indeed."

"Like _Din_ we'd want _shit_ from you!" Link yelled, "this is bull, let us go!"

"I implore you to stop shouting," The Zora requested in a way that sounded like a demand, clearly annoyed with Link's temper.

"_Implore to my di_-"

"I've never known Zora's to treat travelers so hostility," Zelda told him quickly, planning her words as she frantically tried shoot Link a look that told him to _shut up_, "we were just passing through Lake Hylia for the night, no where near Zora territory."

"Wrong again miss," the Zora corrected. Zelda was earnestly confused at this point, "that part of the Lake is commonly established as Zora land. There is even fencing to keep Hylians out. That infraction alone is enough to put you on trial."

"Lake Hylia belongs to no _one_ race," Zelda stated factually. For some reason, this statement seemed to bring out the first emotion they saw from the Zora: bewilderment.

"On the contrary," the man told her slowly, "half of the Lake belongs to the Hylians. The only wish we had was for the other half to remain untainted, and welcome to any race _but_."

Zelda and Link exchanged inquisitive glances.

"Would you believe us if we said we were unaware of this?" Zelda tested.

"No," he replied simply, making the Princess sigh dejectedly. He noticed this, and continued immediately, "but it's not really my place to say. Your council with the King starts in a few moments, the guards will be by to escort you soon.

"So why are _you_ here?" Link hissed. The Zora approached his cell, towering over the seated Link for a moment before crouching to eye level. Zelda's heart raced violently as they locked gazes, although Link did not appear to buckle under the pressure.

"I wanted to look in the eyes of the wretched kidnappers of our beloved Princess Ruto," Link didn't move, he didn't even blink. Zelda, on the other hand was taken aback, though she held her tongue in fear that her denial would seem suspicious.

"We _aren't_ kidnappers," Link told the man forcefully, though still neither of them moved.

After a few long, painful moments, the sound of footsteps became present toward the entrance of the cell-room. The Zora stood up straight once more, breaking his staring contest with Link as the Zora guards came to collect the prisoners.

"Or so it seems," he said quietly, causing Zelda and Link to exchange confused looks once more.

Zelda lost sight of the strange Zora man that spoke to them initially as three new Zoras, carrying spears and wearing helmets, crowded around her door. She fought to remain calm with the present situation, nodding respectfully to the gentlemen.

"Put this on," one of the Zoras told her, holding a clean blue tunic and new black boots out to the Princess for her to take, "you should look presentable in front of the Zora King," Zelda smiled with a quivering lip despite the backhanded gifts, as one of the guards worked to untie her while the other two stood in front of the door.

"Thank you," she said as she pulled the baggy tunic over her ripped dress shirt, and then stepped into the slightly too-large boots, tucking her pantalette legs into the top. Once she was done with this, the Zora guard took hold of both of her wrists and tied them together in front of her body. Zelda allowed him to do this with no resistance. They were not guilty of anything, so she would act as such.

"Hey! Watch the goods, fish fingers," Zelda twitched involuntarily. It was a surprise that Link's voice didn't automatically give her a migraine at this point.

As she stepped out of the cell, the guards flanked either side of her, while one took to the front to lead the way. Link took a little more prompting than Zelda had, but eventually they managed to coax him out as well.

The outside of the cell-room was when Zora's Domain was truly visible. A magnificent, pristine blue lake covered the entire center of the domain, with a spiralling ramp that continued up onto different floors where the tree trunk had hollowed out, making solid land. Towards the top of this ramp, a thundering waterfall perpetually fell, creating the noise that Zelda had heard earlier. Some of the spiralling-roots acted as walls in other sections of the village, adding an even more elegant feel to the establishment. Many other Zora civilians lived in this complex, and most were doing activities in and out of the water before noticing the prisoners, and stopping to watch them ascend to the throne room.

Zelda and her guards were first, Link following closely behind. She wished greatly that the two of them would have had time to speak before they saw the king. Link's track record under questioning so far wasn't the best. She let out a breath she didn't know she'd been holding when they reached the throne room. Link and his guards had enough room to walk adjacently to her now, and Zelda took this opportunity to attempt eye contact with her unfortunate companion.

It appeared that the Zoras had given him back his tunic, which was something, if only to make Zelda more comfortable. He was also glancing at the Princess out of the corner of his eye, a slight scowl adorning his features. Zelda made it clear that she was looking at him when she mouthed the words: '_Don't. Say. Anything'_

Link rolled his eyes away from her, and his scowl increased in depth, but he didn't respond.

The inside of King Zora's throne room was a shallow pool of water, surrounded by the top of the tree trunk. Carved from wood were steps that lead to nowhere, just a small pedestal above the water. Zelda swallowed as her and Link were ushered upwards, with the guards staying at the base to watch them. Once the two blonde Hylians mounted the steps fully, they came face to face with their judge.

King Zora looked nothing like his subjects. Instead of being built strongly, majestically, he was built more like a very large oval. He was the only one of the Zoras wearing a finely-sewn red and gold cape, as well as a golden crown with a singular, large red jem adorning the top. His legs and arms were disproportionately small compared to the rest of his body, and his throne appeared to be the very spot where water flowed into his domain, coming from a large ebony fence behind him. His seat also happened to be the only thing made out of stone in the entire place, according to Zelda's limited observations.

Zelda immediately bowed respectfully, elbowing Link slightly in suggestion for him to do the same. The hylian let out an audible sigh, but reluctantly followed Zelda's lead.

"Rise," the large Zora told them, his small mouth releasing a deep, smooth voice. Zelda did as instructed, lifting her head to once again establish eye contact with the King.

"Your majesty-" she began cautiously, only to trail off quietly when the King Zora raised his oddly small hand. Link couldn't hide his annoyance at the girls obedience.

"Your charges are very severe," the king began, his expression unreadable, "not only were you confirmed to be on the Zora side of lake Hylia, but you are also suspected kidnappers of my beloved daughter Princess Ruto," his eyes almost appeared to water, but he quickly covered his emotions once more to continue, "as it stands, your guilt has been predetermined. Either you give me back my child, or face the consequences!"

"Where would we hide a _one ton_ Zora? In our back Pockets?" Link demanded, flabbergasted. Zelda felt that way as well, they weren't even going to get a fair trial?!

"Enough!" The Zora king shouted, clearly offended by Link's brute words. Didn't Zelda tell him not to speak? "If you refuse to comply to my pure, humble request, I have no choice but to sentence you to death by drowning!"

Zelda gasped, shaking her head wildly, "you don't understand!" she tried, only wishing he would give her room to speak.

"I understand plenty!" He finalized. The guards looked at one another with confusion, as if not fully agreeing with their king either, but they ultimately began to ascend the steps toward their prisoners, fully intending to honor their king's wishes.

"You can't kill us! You don't know who you're dealing with," Link tried, yanking his arm away from a guard that attempted to grab him. Sensing where he was going with this, Zelda took a step toward him as he began to shout, "this is Pri-mphm!"

"This is all a misunderstanding," Zelda tried, her hands clamped firmly over Link's mouth, despite how uncomfortable the position proved to be with her hands being tied together. Link regarded her with a mix of confusion and annoyance.

"I've heard enough, take them out of my sight!" the King turned his massive, round head slightly away from them, as if they were too disgusting to even look at. Zelda didn't know how to respond, she just kept trying to pull away from the grasp of the regretful guards, looking around desperately for anything she could do to get out of the situation. Link was enraged, taking his body away from his captors in a much more successful fashion, though they had now backed him into the corner of the pedestal.

"Stop!"

A new voice rang clear and high, making the guards pause long enough for Zelda to free herself and join Link's side.

"Altus?"

Everyone in the room turned to face the new speaker. Zelda's eyes widened as she recognized who it was immediately: the Zora that had come to talk to them after she and Link had woken up.

"What is the meaning of this?" The Zora king demanded, his gaze hard.

"Excuse the intrusion, my King," the Zora, apparently going by the name of Altus, dropped to one knee respectively, before lifting his head to look his ruler in the eye, "but I cannot stand for this blatant injustice."

"I don't understand," The king shook his ovalesque head in confusion, "these are the wretches who took my beloved daughter, our beloved Ruto!"

"I know you would like believe this, for that way there is clear resolution, but I'm afraid this is not the case," Altus rose from his knee and began to approach the center of the room, "I know these Hylians are innocent."

"How?" The King, surprisingly, did not seem mad at Altus' for questioning his judgment. He was honestly captivated.

"First off, what kind of righteous idiot would stick around the scene of the crime after committing such an atrocity," Altus began, before looking directly at Link and adding, "well, it is entirely possible that these are that kind of idiot, so this is not an argument in their favor."

"Hey, Fish-Boy! Whose side are you on?!" Link demanded, but didn't say more when the King's frog-like eyes flicked toward him menacingly.

"As I was saying," Altus continued, "even if they _were_ this breed of idiot, they would indefinitely not have been able to conceal Princess Ruto in that short amount of time, we searched all around . . . lifeless or not, the Princess wasn't there" the last part of Altus' sentence seemed to physically pain everyone in the room, save for Link and Zelda.

"What would you have me do then?" The Zora King asked in a quiet voice. Zelda's mouth dropped. Not only had this man allowed one of his subjects to dispel his final ruling without any reprimandation, but now he was asking that man for _advice?!_ What kind of Monarchy was this!

"Well, due to the strong evidence in their favor towards _not_ have kidnapping the Princess, I would advise you to drop that charge," Altus said slowly. The King cleared his throat.

"So it goes," he said with a nod toward his guards, who gratefully backed away from Zelda and Link. Relaxing slightly, the Princess took a step away from Link herself, no longer comforted by his closeness.

"However," Altus began suddenly, causing Zelda to raise a brow at the man in confusion, "they _were_ in Zora territory past curfew, without any form of documentation, and are obviously Hylian," he added, addressing the King directly. The guards ceased in their retreat, facing the disgruntled Hylians once again. Zelda felt herself involuntarily press her shoulder against Link's in nervousness.

"So what should their punishment be?" The obviously emotionally damaged King asked Altus, who, in response, turned toward Link and Zelda with a frightfully cold smile.

"Community service."

* * *

"This is where the Princess was supposed to have been one the night of her disappearance," Altus told them, moving to the side in order to let the pair see better, "you may be able to find clues around here, it's our best lead . . . aside from you two."

"It's gorgeous!" Zelda exclaimed, eyes sparkling as she took in the sights. Behind Zora's domain was another great expanse of water. This one seemed to continue on forever, extending beyond two massive mountains into unknown territory. It was virtually untouched, save for one particular stone worship place. It was only a square of land with four pillars extending out of each corner, and fenced in to the right and the left, though not the front. It also had stars leading up to it from the back, and that was where the duo and their escort of two Zora, one of whom was Altus, were headed.

"I'm really getting sick of this whole 'water everywhere' thing," Link complained as he waded through the shallows, soaking his boots and paint legs rather uncomfortably. Zelda did feel a pang of sympathy for him for a moment.

"Maybe you should have accepted the waterproof boots, hmm?" She teased, gesturing to her own feet. Link wrinkled his nose.

"Hey, I love these puppies! They're made from real moo-moo skin," he defended pointing at his shoes, "the vendor I stole them from said so," Zelda looked away from him pointedly, suppressing an eye roll. He even rejected their offer of a deep water tunic, it eliminated the pressure felt on the Hylian body from deep sea, and made it easier to swim lower. He claimed it was a placebo or something like that.

Zelda had accepted all of these gifts eagerly, and with much gratitude. In addition to getting correctly fitting boots, the princess also got a belt to tie around her tunic in order to make it more secure. She had since given up on the remainder of her dress, electing to just rip it apart and use the fabric as a hair tie for her braid. And strangely enough, she'd grown inexplicably fond of her pants.

The Zoras apparently used to have many Hylian visitors, thus all of the spare Hylian clothing that they were more than willing to give them. Yet, something appeared to have happened rather recently that changed this. The gentle Zoras accepted Link and Zelda quickly after they had been found not-guilty, and when they showed their eagerness to help find the princess. Their trusting demeanor made Zelda wonder if it wasn't the Hylians fault that the two races had a falling out.

As soon as she was home, her first duty would be to repair this relationship. She'd never even heard of these silly border squabbles, and assumed it was something made up between the local Hylians and the Zoras, nothing major enough to be brought to the attention of parliament.

Their sentence had been to stay in Zoras domain until Princess Ruto's location had been pinpointed, and to help with the search efforts. Zelda was relieved, but Link still seemed annoyed. She could tell he really wanted to get on the road to Hyrule Castle, and he was probably also worried for his horse. They'd given back all of the items from the campsite, including weapons, but said they saw nothing of Link's horse.

"Besides, what good is waterproof feet if _all_ of you gets splashed," Link said ominously. His words made Zelda turn her head just fast enough to get a face full of water swamped into her face. She sputtered, wiping her eyes in anger as she then shook out her soaked arms.

Link's obnoxious, exuberant laughter sent a surge of rage through Zelda as she watched the blonde clutch his stomach, and his body threaten to keel over in mirth. Without thinking, the Princess crouched down herself, extending her arms and spraying a rather sizable wave if she could say so herself, right in his direction.

His open mouth made for a rather satisfying coughing sound as the liquid splashed inside of it. She grinned to herself, but covered the smile with her hand when a flabbergasted Link looked up at her.

"Must've slipped, my apologies," Zelda shrugged slightly, before attempting to regain her soaked dignity by suppressing her smile and continuing to wad on a little ways.

"Oh _now_ you're gonna get it," Link threatened, smiling big as he prepared to splash her once more. Zelda couldn't hold back the slight giggle as she tried to run away from his wave's range

"Would you two _please_!"

The other voice caused both Link and Zelda to awkwardly stop their fooling around. Link cleared this throat slightly, standing up straight as he then tried to ring out his shirt as he walked. Zelda turned toward the two Zoras who were already waiting for them on the stone outlook. She felt her face heat up in embarrassment. It was _not_ proper for Hyrule's princess to be splashing around in the water like a toddler. The Zora guard had a small smile on his face as she attempted to approach them with solemnity, but Altus did not appear to be amused.

"You're on duty right now for Nayru's sake," he reprimanded as they approached, making Zelda lower her head.

"My apologies, it won't happen again," she offered, still trying to quell her reddened face. Link snorted to himself.

"Aaand re-clenched," he muttered, seemingly to no one in particular. Zelda raised an eyebrow, though didn't bother questioning it. Altus sighed, but turned away from the other three and started walking toward the front of the stone over-look. Zelda and Link followed, though the guard waited by the stairs.

"The Princess was here trying to see if she could lure Lord Jabu Jabu out from hiding," Altus explained, gazing off into the horizon, "he hadn't come for his daily offering earlier that evening, and the Princess was worried."

"Uh," Link raised a finger to point at himself, "am I the only one who has no idea who Lord A-boo-boo is?"

"He's the patron deity of the Zoras," Zelda explained to him in a chastising voice, turning around to shoot him a look. Honestly, how did that boy make it this far in life being so rude? Link seemed mildly annoyed.

"Well _excuse_ me Prin- Zel," Link cut himself off, but his slip up caused Zelda to jump slightly in fear. She looked to Altus immediately, but luckily the Zora seemed distracted by something as he gazed off into the water. Zelda breathed a sigh of relief.

"He hasn't come to the surface in a while. We brought a rather large offering for him this time though so, perhaps it will please him,"

"You think he'll help lead us to where Princess Ruto is?" Zelda asked the seemingly dazed Altus, who shook his head in the negative.

"I don't know," he replied honestly, "but it's worth a shot. It seems a little convenient that they both disappeared at once, doesn't it?" He looked to her, eyes weary, as if begging for her to offer some sort of hope. Zelda gave him a sweet smile.

"Very convenient. I'm certain this should help us, at least a little bit," she told him. She could almost see Altus' body relax at her words.

The guard unstrapped his woven backpack, dumping out its contents on to the one grey tile on the out-look. Almost a dozen fish were now sprawled across the stone, and Altus quickly worked to position them in a correct way. He lit the incense that rested inside of pots to either side of them, and then backed away from the offering.

Zelda and the others waited. The guard once again stepped back near the stairs, though the other three remained toward the front, trying to glimpse and see if they could catch sight of the elusive Lord Jabu Jabu. Zelda was practically bouncing in anticipation. If nothing else, she would be able to see the real life _deity_ of the Zora people! This creature was a key aspect in Zora culture, something they based rituals around!

As her excitement practically bubbled over, it appeared the Altus' was as well. Though for differing reasons, Zelda was sure. As the two anxiously waited she realized, much to her disappointment, Link seemed incurably bored.

Almost an hour passed like that. The incense was near burned out, and Zelda was losing hope. She sat, head slumped in her hand, staring off into the sea. Altus however, still seemed as eager as he had since the beginning. Link had fallen asleep.

"Look!" Altus yelled suddenly, jumping up to point at the water. This made Link wake up quickly, mid snore, and look around in a daze. Zelda too jumped at the sudden noise, startled by his outcry. She squinted into the sun, trying to distinguish whether or not there really was movement stirring in the water.

"He's right!" Zelda cried, jumping up herself in excitement. Link groaned, forcing his body to stand as he tried to adjust to the sun with his hand over his brow.

peaking out of the water, just barely, was a golden bump. Zelda inched closer to the front of the out-look in order to see it more clearly. As the golden bump increased in closeness, it also increased in size, growing larger, and higher up. The gold turned into red and gold, blue and gold, an entire headdress. And then the beasts enormous, cool blue eyes began to emerge from the water, each pupil probably the size of Zelda herself. She felt short of breath. Just how large was this animal?

"Something's wrong," Altus said suddenly, causing Zelda to look at the Zora in confusion. His happiness had been replaced with a strange sense of foreboding as he took a step back.

"What do you mean?" Zelda questioned, though she remained where she was. Link too became tense at Altus' words.

"He's coming in too fast," Altus took another step back, "way too fast! Everyone get away!" He shouted as he began a sprint for the behind the out-look. Link didn't have to be told twice, he took off as soon as Altus started speaking. For Zelda however, it was already too late.

As the Princess went to run away, she felt something pulling her backwards. Horrified, she tried desperately to run as fast as she could, but still her body was being sucked towards the beast somehow. She braved a look behind, only to let out a scream of utter horror as she began to lose footing in her desperate run.

The great Lord Jabu Jabu had reached them. His enormous head hardly fit on the outlook as he sucked in a gigantic breath in an effort to consume all of the fish offered to him. Unfortunately for Zelda, she happened to be _also_ on the outlook while he did this. His open mouth alone was the size of the largest room in Hyrule Castle, and his teeth were almost twice the size as the Princess, and looked more than sharp enough to break her in half with one bite.

As the Princess lost her footing, she screamed once more, trying desperately to find foothold on the smooth stone as she dug her nails into the ground with no avail.

"Zelda!" She heard Link shout, as he ignorantly hopped back on to the outlook in a noble effort to save her.

But it was too late.

With a mighty heave, Zelda was sent flying through the air, catapulted directly down the colossal beast's throat as its toothy mouth began to close, cutting off all light. Her world became black and empty. There was nothing to save her as she fell into a dark abyss.

* * *

**Thanks for reading, feel free to review! (:**


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